Kerala government releases Hema Committee report on Malayalam film industry

The decision to release the findings of the report came after the Kerala High Court dismissed an appeal filed by actress Ranjini against an order of single-judge bench allowing the release of report on working conditions of women in the industry.

Following much deliberations and ado over the release of the findings of the Justice Hema Committee, which was formed to study the issues of female artists in the Malayalam industry, the Kerala government on Monday finally released the report.

The decision to release the findings of the report came after the Kerala High Court dismissed an appeal filed by actress Ranjini against an order of a single-judge bench allowing the release of the report on working conditions of women in the industry.

The committee submitted its report to the government in 2019. Even though the report was filed five years back, the details of the report were not released as it was believed to contain sensitive information.

The State Information Commission had on July 5 directed the State Public Information Officer (SPIO) to reasonably disseminate the information in the report while ensuring that it does not compromise the privacy of individuals.

The committee was formed after the 2017 actress assault case involving actor Dileep, to study issues of sexual harassment and gender inequality in the Malayalam cinema industry. Though the committee submitted the report in December 2019, the government neither initiated any corrective measures nor made the report public citing that many women who deposed before the committee insisted on privacy.

What does the report say?

The report has exposed the sexual exploitation and discrimination faced by women in the Malayalam film industry.

Compulsions and threats for sexual favours, forcing women to expose their bodies in films without their consent, denial of basic facilities and even proper food at film sets and even discrimination in wages are among the highlights of the panel's findings. Some women had also deposed that casting couch was a reality in the Malayalam film industry.

The committee points out that the Malayalam film industry is in the clutches of some 'criminal mafias'. Many actors, producers and directors are involved in seeking sexual favours. Even women producers often face harassment. It says that the 'item songs' are often included in the films just for exposing women.

The committee also points out that mechanisms like the internal complaints committee would be ineffective and there is a need fo the government controlled mechanism to address the grievances of women in the film industry.

Reactions

Cultural affairs minister Saji Cheriyan reacted that the government was in the process of holding a cinema conclave to discuss the issues in the film and serial industries. He also said that the government did not make the report public so far as the State Information Commission had earlier directed that the report should not be made public.

He also added that being minister in charge of cinema, he did not get any specific complaint from any women in the film industry on the harassment, except for general issues taken up by the Women in Cinema Collective. If any woman gives any complaint, the government will take stringent action, he added.

With DHNS inputs