 "From sexual favours, compromises to casting couch: Hema Commission's shocking revelations on Malayalam film industry")
Hema Commission’s newly released report has exposed some shocking revelations about the Malayalam Film Industry, known for its out-of-the-box yet relevant stories.
While the casting couch continued to be a significant issue, sexual favours and compromises have created a dangerous and unequal environment in Mollywood. “Was shocked to hear accounts of sexual abuse, harassment faced by victims in Malayalam film industry,” the report which was released after 5 years.
“Women in cinema frequently feel unsafe going to work alone. Numerous testimonies reveal that sexual demands are commonly tied to employment opportunities, making it vastly different from other professions. In fields like teaching, medicine, or engineering, women are
not subjected to such conditions. For these jobs, demonstrating one’s skills and passing an interview is usually enough to secure employment. However, in the film industry, the casting couch remains a troubling reality,” the report observed
”Cinema is a male-dominated industry. It is an exclusive Boys’ Club where men sit and chat over long hours at night discussing the script of a movie or other aspects of the project at hand or future projects,” reads the Committee’s report. In many cases, these discussions take place over alcohol. “After drinking, the conversation does not always stay focused on just movies. In such digressions they may crack vulgar jokes with sexual innuendos,” the report further said.
It further explains that “there is a culture of silence that shrouds Malayalam movie (industry), which is partly a fear psychosis engendered by the working of the power nexus that controls” the industry.
The Hema Committee report was formed in 2017 by the Kerala Government based on a petition by the Women in Cinema Collective to study the challenges faced by women in the industry.
Despite the prevalence of sexual harassment & abuse in the film industry, females are reluctant the majority of the time to report these criminal offences to the police
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