THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government does not intend to make the details of the Justice K Hema Commission report on issues faced by women in the film industry public and those who insist on doing it may be driven by ‘vested interests’, Cultural Affairs Minister Saji Cherian has said. He was speaking after chairing the first meeting of stakeholders of the film industry here on Wednesday to discuss a summary report prepared on the basis of the Hema panel recommendations.
The minister said it was for the government to decide whether the report should be made public or not.
“What is important is the enactment of a legislation on the basis of the commission’s recommendations,” said Cherian, who added Justice Hema herself had insisted on not making the contents of the report public. The panel was formed to look into the issues faced by women in the Malayalam film industry in the wake of the actor abduction case.
The minister said the government has appointed a committee to hold further discussions with associations representing various stakeholders of the film industry and collate their recommendations. The committee comprises state women’s commission chairperson P Sathidevi, Kerala State Film Development Corporation chairman Shaji N Karun, Chalachitra Academy chairman Renjith, actor Madhupal and the state law secretary.
WCC says Hema commission summary report inconclusive, AMMA welcomes it
“The summary report will be finalised soon following which the law department and the cabinet will examine it so as to enact it as a law. The atrocities against women in the industry keep happening though strong laws exist to curb them. This has necessitated a separate law and it will be enacted soon,” the minister said.
Earlier, the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) had demanded the select portions of the Hema commission recommendations be made public without compromising its overall confidentiality. The WCC representatives also said the summary report was as inconclusive as the recommendations and that the outcome of the discussions was “disappointing”.
“Most of the recommendations are very loosely defined, giving rise to many questions. I don’t know if the state has taken enough time and consideration to put this (summary report) together,” said actor Padmapriya representing the WCC. Film editor Beena Paul, also of the WCC, said there were ways to maintain confidentiality while revealing the key contents of the report.
The Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) welcomed the recommendations and said it had no objection in implementing them. Actor Siddique, representing AMMA, said the association has asked for clarifications on certain minor aspects but the recommendations on the whole were very clear. “We don’t have any difference of opinion regarding its implementation,” he added.