MeToo haunts Mollywood: The bigwigs facing sexual abuse allegations

The Malayalam film industry has been rocked by a volley of allegations of sexual misconduct since the Justice Hema Committee report was released last week. More women are coming out with their horrific accounts of sexual assault and harassment as the MeToo movement grips Kerala.

Several bigwigs have been accused of sexual misconduct, sending ripples across Mollywood, or the Malayalam film industry. The Kerala government is under intense pressure after the Hema Committee report revealed shocking details of the rampant sexual abuse haunting the film industry.

Let’s take a closer look.

Mollywood’s MeToo

Senior Malayalam actor Siddique had to step down as the general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) after a female actor accused him of raping her when she was 19.

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The actor said she was ready to take legal action against him provided the government assured her of protection. “I had dreamed big when I came into the film sector. He invited me to a hotel room on the pretext of discussing a film project. I had only a professional approach. But I was trapped and he sexually abused me. It was rape… He slapped and kicked me. I had to run away from there. He is a number one criminal. Some of my friends too had similar experiences with him,” the young actor had alleged on Saturday, as per Indian Express.

Siddique has filed a complaint against the junior artist with the Director General of Police for accusing him of sexual abuse.

These allegations came a day after Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra accused ace Malayalam filmmaker Ranjith of misbehaving with her in 2009, during the pre-production phase of the film Paleri Manikyam. 

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She has reportedly filed a complaint with the Kochi city police under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which pertains to criminal force or assault against a woman with the intention to outrage her modesty, Deccan Herald (DH) reported citing Kochi police commissioner S Syamsundar.

Amid the allegations, Ranjith stepped down as the chairman of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy. The national award-winning director claimed the accusation was part of a “concerted move” against him after he assumed the chairmanship of the academy.

The case is likely to be handed over to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Kerala government to probe the allegations in the wake of the Hema Committee report.

More allegations of sexual misconduct came to light on Monday. Actor Minu Muneer on Monday (August 26) accused several actors, including a two-time CPI(M) MLA, of sexual misconduct. In a Facebook post, she named the actors M Mukesh, Jayasurya, Maniyanpilla Raju and Edavela Babu. She said the incident took place in 2013 and these actors subjected her to “physical and verbal abuse”.

Speaking to the media, she alleged an actor tried to assault her at a hotel during the shooting of Calender (2009) and Nadakame Ulakam (2011).

“He entered the room and pulled me on the bed saying that I will have to consider those who have to be considered for getting better chances. Later, I left that place.. Before that, while travelling by a car, (another actor) told me that he would come to my room the next night. He too had knocked at my door during the night,” Muneer was quoted as saying by Indian Express.

Muneer accused a third actor of misconduct in 2008. She said she had applied for a membership of the AMMA in 2013. “A person who acted in three films is eligible for membership in AMMA. When I called him over the phone regarding filling the application form, he invited me to his flat. While I was filling the application form at his flat, he kissed on my neck from behind. I ran out of the flat. I did not get the membership either,’’ she said, as per Indian Express.

In her Facebook post, Muneer mentioned she was forced to leave the Malayalam film industry and relocate to Chennai as the “abuse” became “unbearable”.

“I will file a complaint with the state police team, which was assigned to look into the revelations which came up in the wake of the Hema Committee report,” Muneer told the media.

Maniyanpilla Raju has called for a probe into the allegations, claiming “vested interests” behind the charges, reported NDTV.

ALSO READ: Why Hema panel report on sexual harassment in Mollywood matters beyond Kerala

Casting director Tess Joseph also reiterated her allegations of inappropriate behaviour against actor-turned-politician Mukesh, who has dismissed her charges as a political conspiracy.

The charges against Mukesh, a two-time CPI(M) MLA, have stirred a political storm. The Congress has demanded his resignation as a legislator in the Kerala Assembly and called on the police to register a case against him.

A junior artiste has levelled grave allegations against award-winning actor and filmmaker Baburaj. Speaking to NDTV, she said she was called to Baburaj’s residence at Aluva in the Ernakulam district to discuss a movie role. She claimed the 58-year-old verbally abused and sexually assaulted her there.

“He called me to his house… saying screenwriters and directors were coming to discuss my role. I believed him and went… There he showed me room to rest and, after some time, called me to dinner. I had locked the door. When I opened it, he barged inside, locked it again and raped me,” the junior artiste alleged.

Baburaj, the joint general secretary of AMMA, has denied the allegations and reportedly threatened to “initiate legal action”. He has alleged “conspiracy” behind the allegation to “prevent” him from becoming the general secretary of AMMA.

Actor Geetha Vijayan has accused filmmaker Thulasidas of trying to sexually assault her in 1991, during the shoot of his movie Chanchattam.

Actor Sridevika has also spoken against Thulasidas, accusing him of harassing her while working on the 2007 movie Avan Chandiyude Makan. She said she had lodged a formal complaint with AMMA but no action was taken.

Reactions to the charges

The series of allegations have sent shockwaves across the Malayalam film industry. The silence of top actors Mohanlal and Mammootty is being questioned amid the charges. Mohanlal, the president of AMMA, resigned on Tuesday (August 27) from the post in the wake of the Hema Committee report . As per reports, all members of the executive committee have submitted resignations en masse.

Gold actor Prithviraj Sukumaran has spoken up about the report, saying he hoped action would be taken against the offenders. Pointing to his co-star Sridevika’s allegations against the director Thulasidas, he slammed AMMA for not handling the survivors’ complaints properly.

National award-winning actor Revathi said the Hema panel report has kindled faith in survivors to open up about their experiences.

Parvathy Thiruvothu, a leading Malayalam actor and founding member of Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), said the report is not an “expose” on the Malayalam film industry. “This is the first time, this is being done in any film industry, where a government-appointed committee has done a study on it and a report has come out. What I believe is that, when this happens in Malayalam industry I am not ok with it going like, ‘Malayalam industry so rotten inside.’ No, we are good inside, which is why we are fixing it. The places where you don’t hear anything about, that’s where we should be worried about,” she told NDTV.

Telugu star Nani has also expressed shock at the revelations of the Hema Committee report.

The seven-member SIT will probe the sexual abuse allegations by women in Mollywood. It remains to be seen if the Malayalam film industry’s MeToo moment will bring the mighty down.

With inputs from agencies