The Hema Committee report being submitted to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan by the panel members on December 31, 2019
The K. Hema Committee report on the issues faced by women in the Malayalam film industry, published on Monday, five years after it was submitted to the Kerala government, revealed horrid tales of sexual exploitation, illegal bans, discrimination, drug and alcohol abuse, wage disparity and in some cases, inhuman working conditions.
The 235-page report, published after redacting the names of the witnesses as well as the accused, notes that the Malayalam film industry is under the clutches of certain male producers, directors and actors, whom a prominent actor referred to as a “mafia”, as they could ban anyone from the industry.
The committee confirms the rumoured existence of the practice of “casting couch” in the industry. Contrary to the other fields, sexual harassment starts even before a woman starts working in the film industry as demands for sexual favours are made by very well-known people in the industry in lieu of offering them roles. Some of the witnesses provided video clips, audio clips and screenshots of WhatsApp messages as proof of casting couch attempts.
Many of the women find it unsafe to stay alone in the accommodation arranged for them during shooting, as men in inebriated condition habitually knock their doors. Attempts to forcibly enter their room by knocking down doors were also recounted by witnesses, notes the report. One specific case mentions an actress who had to act as the wife of her abuser the very next day of the incident, causing the victim immense trauma. In an attempt to persuade newcomers, some people in the industry actively create the impression that successful women have made it through “compromises”.
Well-founded fears
Many who were examined by the committee were afraid to reveal things which they experienced fearing adverse consequences. The fear is well-founded. The committee damningly notes that it is concerned about their safety and even that of their close relatives. The experiences which many women in cinema have gone through are of such gravity that they had not disclosed these details even to their close family members.
They also rarely approach the police fearing the consequences from powerful forces in the industry as well as cyberattacks due to their public profiles. In another instance of the climate of fear that existed in the industry, when the Hema Committee formed a WhatsApp group with dancers in the industry, most of them left the group one after the other, after hearing the committee’s intention. Similar was the case with junior artistes, one of the most exploited lot in the industry.
Producers are warned by the industry’s “power group” not to cast actors who fall out of favour with them. Even the release of movies can be prevented as the Film Chamber of Commerce has to issue NOC. Production controllers have a major role in getting people banned from cinema. Members of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), following whose demand the Hema Committee was set up, were banned from cinema because the organisation speaks out against the atrocities women face.
The report highlights the lack of changing rooms or toilet facilities on the set, especially in outdoor locations, leading to urinary infection for many women. The committee also notes that some of the men, including a prominent actor, who deposed before it said that the issue need not be taken seriously.
Junior artists are in some cases “treated worse than slaves” with work extending up to 19 hours. Intermediaries misappropriate a good part of their payments, which are not given on time. In the case of a big budget movie, a 70-year-old woman who sustained serious burns due to an accident in the set was not provided any money for medical treatment. The junior artists are not admitted into any film organisations.
Lack of written contract
The lack of a written contract is exploited by some to deprive the actors and technicians of even the remuneration promised orally. An instance cited is of an actress, the title character in a movie, who was forced to do an intimate scene. When she was pressed for more revealing shots, she left the sets without claiming the remuneration for the days she worked. But the director insisted that unless she comes to Kochi personally he will not delete the intimate scenes already filmed.
The junior artists lack a minimum remuneration. Assistant and associate directors are provided meagre remuneration for working continuously for months. They do not get the daily batta too. Their work is not clearly defined, while the strenuous pre-production work is not counted as ‘work’. One witness cited the case of a woman script writer, who had the theme of gender justice weaved into the script but the director mangled the script so much that the writer was reluctant to take credit.
The Hema Committee notes that an Internal Complaints Committee can be ineffective as powerful persons can threaten or coerce the ICC members to deal with the complaint in a manner they demand. It also raises doubts about the confidentiality of information revealed to the ICC, if it is constituted with people from the industry, adding to the torture of the complainants. The committee recommends the government to enact an appropriate statute and constitute a Tribunal to address all the issues faced by women in cinema.