THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Minutes after AMMA downplayed mentions of sexual assault in the Hema committee report as isolated incidents, the organisation’s vice president Jagadeesh struck a dissenting note and demanded that a proper probe be carried out into the allegations.
Talking to media on Friday, Jagadeesh said, “If an actress had given in her statement that someone had persistently knocked on the door of her room at night with a wrong intent, it ought to be investigated. There is no relevance in saying this has happened in other places of employment.”
Answering a question about the allegations raised against Minister and ATMA president K B Ganesh Kumar, Jagadeesh said that if allegations have been raised against anyone there should be an investigation.
“If an actress had told you about it, there is no need to doubt the same. It is criminal exploitation. Otherwise no one would make a complaint out of the blue. If the women who were exploited complained against it, who are we to dismiss it outright? It is true that the complaints brought to the notice of the Hema committee have not come up in front of AMMA. However, that doesn’t mean such incidents never happen. We have to believe them and probe to find who all were denied opportunities for saying NO to sexual exploitation,” he said. The AMMA vice president also said that forming an Internal Complaints Committee was not practical, as it would have to be formed on each shooting set. “We should look at the possibility of forming ICC by including the representatives from AMMA, FEFKA and producers’ association. The complaints of WCC should also be considered. If AMMA has a complaint, it too should be probe,” he added.
Jagadeesh, however, dismissed the allegation that a power group existed in the industry that interfered in the selection of artists. “That is generalisation. It is not right to say that chances are denied to the survivor in the actor abduction case. Her next project is a big one,” he said.