Editorial: Maveli’s Maladjusted

NEW DELHI: In 2019, American journalist Ronan Farrow released his book titled Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators. The book chronicles the numerous hurdles that Farrow faced while pursuing sexual abuse allegations levelled against Hollywood mogul and producer Harvey Weinstein. Incidentally, the title of the book, which kicked off the #MeToo Movement, refers to the practice of catch and kill, which involves disreputable media companies purchasing stories so that they can bury them. One such story has risen from the dead this week and a can of worms was pried open in Mollywood, with the release of a new report detailing the inner workings of an entertainment ecosystem, rife with episodes of rampant sexual misconduct, being made public.

The Justice Hema Committee report on harassment faced by women in the Malayalam film industry spoke about shocking accounts of harassment, exploitation, ill-treatment of women professionals, wage disparity, and more. It has alleged that a 'criminal posse' was controlling the industry where unyielding women are squeezed out. The report also points to the presence of a 'power centre' consisting of a handful of producers, directors, actors and crew. It might be recalled that the Kerala government had constituted the panel in the aftermath of a shameful episode that transpired in 2017. It involved an actress being assaulted while agencies probed the possible involvement of actor Dileep in the case. The committee, formed on account of the demands made by the Women in Cinema Collective, was tasked with examining issues of sexual harassment and gender inequality in Malayalam cinema.

The copy of the report was given to the media under the RTI Act after five years of its submission to the government. The study has sparked concerns about the safety and well-being of women in the industry, as it said that actors were frequently confronted with demands to perform sexual favours i.e. the casting couch, adjust and compromise, as well as be accommodated in hotels where they feared for their safety (many women reported intoxicated men knocking on their doors). Even their work environments were devoid of safe spaces and privacy, with no provisions for toilets or changing rooms.

The corporatisation of the Malayalam film industry hasn’t prevented the Internal Complaints Committee or ICC to exist only as lip service, although the constitution of an ICC has been mandated by the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act (POSH). Several acts of misconduct committed against women in the film industry fall under the IPC, and under the definition of POSH. But the women subjected to the atrocities kept mum due to fears of retribution and excommunication from the business.

The revelations have snowballed into a political slugfest with leaders of the opposition reprimanding Kerala’s ruling dispensation for sitting on this report for five years and now releasing it under duress. CM Pinarayi Vijayan has since affirmed that the administration was considering the prospect of setting up a tribunal and framing a comprehensive Cinema Law. Formation of committees aside, there is an acute lack of representation in the Indian film industry — it’s ruled by a coterie of all-powerful men, doling out films to satiate the hunger of a predominantly male demographic, who occasionally scatter feminist narratives to appear woke. Unless gender equity becomes a topic of discussion and deliberation, front and centre, we are bound to stumble upon such reports indefinitely.