The shock waves that followed after the release of the Hema Committee report continue to echo as more women in Mollywood have come forward revealing their bad experiences with male colleagues.
Singer Chinmayi Sripada recently commented on the Hema Committee report and the sexual abuse complaints in the film industry. In an exclusive interview with IndiaToday and NDTV, she spoke at length about the work conditions of this specific industry and how it's difficult to punish perpetrators due to their political connections, wealthy backgrounds, etc.
In the interview, Chinmayi further appreciated the hard work of the team behind the Hema Committee as well as the members of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) for setting a prime example.
"The most important thing I want to mention here is that hats off to WCC. They have persevered and came together to do something important. It has not been done in any other industry so far. All of these are open secrets and everybody knows about it. We are talking about sexual abuse and sexual harassment, and the abuse of power in other multiple industries," she said.
The singer also added that sexual harassment is believed to be "common and normal" in the film industry. "I am really grateful for the amount of work that the women and WCC have put together. The Hema Committee report wouldn't have come through in the absence of their push and perseverance," stressed Chinmayi.
All criticisms aside, the state of Kerala continues to be the frontrunner in such matters for which I want to appreciate she added.
Chinmayi also mentioned how there are repercussions in such issues but hopes to see at least a light at the end of the tunnel.
Chinmayi's statements come days after the Hema Committee report revealed several female actors being assaulted in the Malayalam film industry. The report highlighted the widespread and persistent sexual harassment faced by women in Malayalam cinema.
Currently, the situation is slowly developing like the 2017 #MeToo movement in Hollywood that got triggered by allegations against Harvey Weinstein, the powerful producer and cofounder of MiraMax Films.
The revelations of Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra and Malayalam actor Revathy Sampath led to the resignation of two heavyweights in the Malayalam film industry -- Kerala Chalachitra Academy chairman Ranjith and AMMA general secretary T Siddique, on Sunday.
Now, more women have come out to speak up against the perpetrators which include celebs like Mukesh, Baburaj, Jayasurya and more.
