KOCHI: Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), an organisation for women working in the Malayalam film industry, has hailed the release of the Justice Hema Committee report.
Speaking to TNIE, actor Revathi called the report “quite a powerful one.” “From whatever I have read, I think it is quite a powerful report. I’m yet to read the whole report. However, I will be going through it after I wrap up my work. All the WCC members will read it and after a day or two, we will discuss the whole thing. Once we do that, we will have a better idea as to what the report entails,” the actor said.
As for WCC’s next step once discussions are held between members, and whether any recommendations or propositions will be made, Revathi said, “Absolutely. That is our plan. We were already aware of the issues. However, what we needed was for them to be in writing. Only then can the law and the government come into the picture.”
Revathi said various things need to be taken care of (in the industry). “Though WCC was able to bring in the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC), the thing that needs to be noted is that it still doesn’t understand its formation; how to make it workable? They don’t realise that it is a very powerful body if it is made workable. We need to sensitise film bodies to do that. And that is something WCC will be definitely working on,” said Revathi.
As for the scenario in which the actors who deposed before the committee and also WCC members were not getting jobs, Revathi said, “Anybody who is a member of the WCC and had gone and spoken up knew that it was bound to happen. The witch-hunt is not happening openly, but it is a fact that they are not getting work. And to break this unsaid and unwritten rule propagated by the big banners, we have to create a workspace where there are as many women directors, writers and producers who would create work without any distinctions.”
