MeToo in Mollywood: The world-wide plague of sexual harassment in film industries

Stories of vendetta have long fascinated filmmakers and cinema viewers alike. But what happened with a Malayalam cinema actress on February 17, 2017, would shock not only the robust Malayalam film industry but the country at large.

It all began when the actress was returning home after a shoot; the car she was travelling in was waylaid, and five men boarded the vehicle. For the next two hours, they sexually assaulted her and recorded the macabre proceedings. After the attack, the actress reached a colleague’s home, and he encouraged her to file a report. Thus began a 7-year saga that is still causing ripples and laying bare the depravity behind the glitz and glamour as more women in Malayalam cinema summon the courage and come forward with their own numbing experiences.

As revealing as this movement is about the Malayalam film industry, which is considered evolved and progressive, it would be naïve to assume that this exploitation doesn’t exist in other film industries, including Hollywood, which is supposed to be the home of progressive values. The Metoo movement in Hollywood exposed one of the most craven and lecherous movers in the business, Harvey Weinstein, who is now in jail for his crimes. Yet for decades he was the toast of the global entertainment industry, winning Oscars with beautiful A-list actresses at his arm; all this was playing out while the insiders in the business knew of his predatory activities. This is often noted and has most recently been pointed out by Women in Cinema Collective (the organisation set up by the brave women in Malayalam cinema) that a powerful coterie of men operated in a predatory manner and covered for each other.

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Such is their influence that the women who have taken up this cause have found themselves “banned” from film work and have to forge their own path despite having had a successful film career in the past. Imagine this is a situation wherein there are no greys in the situation, such is the brazen complicity of the boys club.

The motivation for that brutal crime in 2017 is allegedly because the actress was a close friend of superstar Dileep’s ex-wife, whom she informed about his extramarital affair, leading to a divorce. It is alleged that Dileep was incandescent with rage and decided to take revenge.

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But where will these revelations take us? Just because it has not come to light yet like a flood and emerges only every once in a while doesn’t mean that this exploitation doesn’t take place in other film industries, including the most high-profile Bollywood. So far, cases of reports of sexual exploitation have been dismissed as “gossip” or of “controversial” women seeking attention.

However, this is destined for change. For the first time, it feels like the timer has been set on these practices, and when the dam breaks as it has in the Malayalam film industry, many of those who we, the public, have revered as icons will be revealed for their true selves. And it won’t happen a moment too soon.

This is a battle that men with a conscience must join, for if men are part of the problem, they are also part of the solution. It is unrealistic to deny that we are not a male-dominated society even today, and men in the industry, as prominent members of the film industry with power, need to join hands with women and clean up the system. It could be with public declarations of solidarity, including the insistence that the film sets they work on adhere to Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) guidelines and safe working spaces for women. If lofty budgets can be spent on VFX and vanity vans, then why can’t clean and accessible toilets, rest areas, and secure travel for women be budgeted for?

As much as I would like to believe that I am an empowered woman, the reality is that even today, I know I can’t go out in a car on the highway at 2 am alone, but my male counterpart can. Heck, I can’t even drive alone on the highway at 8 am; only two months ago when I did, I was followed by a car full of men for a few kilometres on the highway. This is my reality and that of many women, and till it changes, the fight continues.

Advaita Kala is a best-selling novelist and award-winning screenwriter. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of Firstpost.