No power group, but 'strong alliances' are there in film industry: FEFKA general secretary

Kochi: B Unnikrishnan, general secretary of the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA), on Sunday said there were "strong alliances" in the cinema industry, but he was not aware of any "power group" as mentioned in the Justice K Hema Committee report.

Unnikrishnan, speaking to a TV channel, said that it was an "undeniable fact" that there were "strong alliances" of some production houses with certain directors, writers and actors to make big films.

"They often work together on several projects back-to-back and naturally, everyone would try to align themselves with them to get opportunities. However, such alliances are based on commercial interests," he said.

He also said that such alliances were not confined to Malayalam cinema alone and were present in film industries everywhere.

At the same time, he said that there cannot be a secret lobby of different cinema-related organisations which meet periodically to decide who should be isolated from films.

"The industry will not be able to work like that," he said in response to queries about whether there was a "power group" in the film sector.

Another undeniable fact that he admitted was the presence of the "casting couch".

"It is a reality we have all heard about. We cannot escape from it by saying it is present in other film industries too. Our endeavour should be to ensure that such things are not there in the Malayalam film industry," he said.

Unnikrishnan also said that the names of the perpetrators in the Hema Committee report should be disclosed.

Regarding south Indian actress Radhika Sarathkumar's startling claim that objectionable videos of female actors were recorded with hidden cameras inside caravans on the shooting sets, he said that a thorough investigation would be carried out into the matter.

Sarathkumar had said on Saturday that at the shooting set of a Malayalam film, she had seen men watching clips of actresses captured using hidden cameras in their caravans.

On whether the response of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) to the committee report was delayed, Unnikrishnan said that it was not late, but what they said was criticised by the general public.

"They (AMMA) should be ready to accept that criticism and learn from it," he said.

He also said that the present crisis in AMMA was due to the fact that it was not a trade union like organisation and has a loose structure.

They lack the "experience and flexibility" to deal with the issues that were mentioned in the Hema Committee report, he further said.

"If they had a trade union like structure or system, all this would not have happened," he added.

The Justice K Hema Committee was constituted by the Kerala government after the 2017 actress assault case, and its report revealed instances of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam cinema industry.

Regarding director Vinayan's complaint to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to remove him (Unnikrishnan) from the cinema policy making committee, the FEFKA general secretary said there was no need to keep him away from the panel.

"I am in the panel as the general secretary of FEFKA representing people of 21 crafts or trade unions and not as an individual. What I say there will be the opinion of those 21 trade unions. So, I see no requirement to remove me from the committee," he said.

Vinayan has sought Unnikrishnan's removal from the panel on the grounds that he had been penalised by the Competition Commission of India for unfair trade practices.

The CCI order had come on Vinayan's complaint.