"The sky is full of mysteries; with the twinkling stars and the beautiful moon. But, scientific investigation revealed that stars do not twinkle nor does the moon look beautiful. The study therefore, cautions: 'Do not trust what you see, even salt looks like sugar'!"
This is how Justice K Hema, ex-Kerala High Court judge, chose to begin her report that was submitted to the state government on December 31, 2019. Yet it took close to five years for this poetic turn of phrase to see the light of the day.
On August 19, 2024, as many as 233 pages of the report was made public in response to an RTI query, but only after several rounds of legal battles were fought before the State Information Commission and the Kerala High Court. Close to 65 pages and numerous paragraphs containing sensitive information pertaining to entitled privacy of individuals were withheld from the 296-page report.
What led to the Hema panel
Justice Hema was the chairperson of a three-member panel -- comprising veteran actress T Sarada and ex-IAS officer KB Valsalakumari -- that was constituted by the Kerala government on July 1, 2017. The committee was set up after the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) -- formed after the infamous actor assault episode in Mollywood -- met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, seeking to look into issues faced by women in the Malayalam film industry. The panel was tasked with the job of identifying such issues and come up with requisite solutions.
A first-of-its-kind initiative in the country, the Hema panel was seen as a major move, especially in an industry where women are being silenced or constantly being forced to play second fiddle to the male ego. The report naturally triggered tremendous curiosity. Despite persistent outcries for release of the report, the Left government chose to cling on to frivolous technicalities, apparently to keep intact the privacy of a few predators who had indulged in consistent sexual abuse, and even offences that could easily invoke the POCSO Act.
When the report was finally out, it provided a few glimpses, here and there, into a convoluted mix of power, abuse, misogyny, money and fear that comprised the hidden underbelly of the Malayalam film industry. In spite of severe censoring, the report still managed to shed light on the alarming extent of sexual harassment, blatant gender discrimination, rampant exploitation of the voiceless, casting couches, unofficial bans including blackmail that was spurred on by a male chauvinistic mafia-like industry. The report even mentions an 'all-male power centre of 10-15 individuals' who run the entire show.
In the first few days after the report was published, the industry, though shaken, chose to tiptoe forward skeptically, under an external garb of calm that hid deep undercurrents.
Public ire was mostly targeted at the government, for sitting for so long on such an explosive expose. While the government is yet to come out of its befuddled state of mind in this regard, socio-cultural and political leaders as well as the WCC mouthed scattered responses, even as the powerful actors' body -- Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) -- remained ominously non-committal.
Minor tremors lead to major explosions; Pandemonium sets in
What began as minor ripples went on to lead to a major explosion. A good five days later, chaos ensued, that too on the very day AMMA chose to publicly respond to the Hema report.
A Bengali actress accused senior director-actor and chairman of the State Chalachithra Academy, Ranjith, of sexual misconduct, while she was auditioning for his 2009 film Paleri Manikyam. After dilly-dallying for a day, while the Left leadership clearly distanced itself from him, he chose to step down.
A double-dhamaka followed, as senior actor and general secretary of AMMA, Siddique, too chose to step down after a young actress accused him of sexual assault -- an allegation that she had made public in 2019 about a 2016 incident. As the industry grappled with the two high-profile resignations, a floodgate of revelations was opened, akin to the MeToo movement in the Hollywood.
A slew of actors and filmmakers including actor-turned-politician M Mukesh, Jayasurya, Maniyampilla Raju, Baburaj, Edavela Babu, Sudheesh, VK Prakash and Sreekumar Menon came under the shadow of suspicion, after allegations of misconduct were levelled against them. In a span of hours, an array of junior artistes and young actresses had levelled a series of accusations of sexual violations and exploitations. What's more, on August 27, the whole AMMA executive led by president veteran actor Mohanlal dramatically resigned.
Differing voices in actors' outfit
The mass resignation of the powerful actors' body happened after a few open revolts spilled out into the public eye. The resentment within the outfit was amply felt, after few senior actors including its vice president and senior character actor, Jagadeesh, openly dismissing the organisation's official position and calling for an immediate probe into all allegations.
If an actress had given a statement that someone had persistently knocked on the door of her room at night with wrong intent, it ought to be investigated, said Jagadeesh, referring to remarks in the Hema report about a persistent issue cited by many actresses -- the dreaded knocking on doors at night.
Close on the heels, followed superstar Prithviraj who openly admitted of lapses on the part of AMMA, and demanded action on the Hema report. Popular actor Tovino Thomas too expressed his opinion in favour of looking into complaints.
A confused government - the political angle!
The whole Hema report fiasco in fact exposes the kind of confusion within the government when it comes to dealing with sexual crimes of such a high-profile nature. The CPM-led government, which has a declared stance of zero tolerance towards anti-women crimes, is finding it increasingly difficult to deal with the after-effects of the Hema report.
While demands came from various corners to initiate legal actions against those named, the government chose to insist that it cannot do so, unless the aggrieved come forward and file fresh complaints, setting the backdrop for a political slug-fest. The chaotic mess that followed forced the Kerala High Court to intervene, asking how the authorities could ignore the recommendations!
The government did form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe all the revelations that kept tumbling out of the closet. Ironically, the carefully worded statement didn't make any mention of the Hema panel and its content. The SIT got on to the job immediately, as a few artistes approached the team with complaints, including one against actor turned CPM MLA M Mukesh. With persistent calls, even from within the Left, for Mukesh's resignation, the CPM chose, as usual, to drag its feet over the whole issue.
Mollywood's WeToo Wave - What next?
The events that followed the Hema report were reminiscent of a 1983 KG George movie - Lekhayude Maranam, Oru Flashback (Lekha's Death: A Flashback), that looked into the tinsel world, post a female actor's suicide, and the dark secrets that inadvertently kept spilling out.
It appears Kerala society is yet to come to terms with the fact that the revelations/allegations pertain not merely to so-called morality woes in cinema, but are mostly criminal offences, if proved. Even as voyeuristic audiences hungrily lap up any new piece of sleaze or juicy gossip, this WeToo Wave has served a bigger purpose. The Hema panel report, aimed at cleaning up the systemic lapses in the industry, curiously serves a much different yet more fruitful purpose than what it was originally meant for. It has led to encouraging women in the industry to come forward and speak their mind, sans fear of moral outrage or fear of ostracization.
That the report would see the light of the day was a fait accompli. Even as many tried to prevent the report from being made public, the movement it triggered should be welcomed, feels senior politician MA Baby.
"The victims were not even ready to speak to the panel at first, and finally agreed after much assurance. Now it has triggered a movement in Kerala society. The organised women movement of WCC has played a crucial role in taking it to this level. The flood of revelations and new interventions stress the need for male artists to go for a paradigm shift, culturally. Gender equality is a must," the CPM Politburo member reiterates. Despite its tall claims, Kerala unfortunately remains very much a patriarchal society, he adds, as an afterthought.
The current spurt in revelations possess all the characteristics of a shoddy, loosely-written script, wherein newer accusations and allegations pour forth indiscriminately, making it almost impractical to check the veracity of the claims, as almost every allegation has its roots in the past. This could well give a new dimension to this gradual 'WeToo' awakening. Some of the revelations pertain to mental/emotional/perceived harassments that may augur the onset of a witch-hunt that could end up hurting even innocent bystanders.
The flood of revelations points to need for mandatory setting up of Internal Complaint Committees even in a closed hierarchy like this.
"Patriarchy prevails in all sectors. Cinema being a more or less a closed group, it would be reluctant to bring in ICC-like structures. Nevertheless, now’s the ideal time to go in for a structural overhaul. The Hema report is indeed a significant turning-point, as it has left the predators rattled, leaving the entire industry with no option but to initiate a structural and internal change," observes senior Left leader and ex-minister KK Shailaja, ex-in-charge of the state Women & Children portfolio.
The WCC has made it clear that the outfit is least interested in 'naming and shaming' anyone or a witch-hunt, but is rather aiming at a systemic change for the better. The organisation has already submitted a slew of recommendations -- Shift Focus -- to the state government.
As veteran film editor and WCC mainstay Bina Paul points out, "We should think about how women in the field can be protected. We say let's bring in a systemic change. Removing one Weinstein will not bring in the whole change."
Hopefully, these tremors will lead to a paradigm shift in Malayalam cinema.
