- By Nidhi Giri
- Sat, 31 Aug 2024 12:48 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Author and columnist Shobhaa De has called out Malayalam cinema director Mohanlal over his resignation along with that of the rest of the executive committee of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) amid backlash over sexual abuse allegations against its members after a massive #MeToo movement hit Kerala's film industry. The Justice K Hema Committee report unleashed a storm of revelations, exposing the prevalence of sexual harassment, casting couch practices, pay disparities, and lobbying in the Malayalam film industry. As the fallout from the report intensifies, several actors have come forward to share their harrowing experiences of abuse, implicating well-known figures in the industry. "Stand up, be a man, tell your other team members to take responsibility and help those who are at the receiving end," she said, as quoted by an NDTV report.
"The tragedy in this particular case is that for nearly five years the Justice Hema Report had been lying there, nothing had been done. There was a breakaway group started by some women in the Malayalam film industry who were completely disheartened by the pathetic working conditions, and it was a cosy men's club controlled by 15-20 men, who had absolutely power over their working and personal life," Shobhaa De added.
"In 2017 there was an abduction and rape case. What we are seeing today is a very strong and overdue reaction to the general rot in the Malayalam film industry. But it's not unique to Malayalam cinema. It's widespread. It's happening in Bollywood, in Bengal, I'm sure in the film industry in Karnataka as well," the NDTV report quoted the author and columnist.
Shobhaa De pointed at the "patriarchal system" that has taken hold of the film industry as a huge factor behind the #MeToo cases.
"The way this industry works is it's a patriarchal system in its nastiest, most toxic form. Women seem to be completely voiceless and powerless. So things must be changed. I'm extremely, in a way, disheartened, shocked that the all-powerful executive committee could do headed by Mohanlal was to resign en masse. How does it help?”
Highlighting the moral duties of those in power, she said, “Good leadership is about saying they are going to stay right where they are and ensure some kind of action against the perpetrators of violence against women, sexual favours being exchanged, even something as basic as toilets (on the sets) being denied to women in the film industry. This is not only inhuman, but callous, it's cold-blooded, it's well-calculated. It's not as if people were not aware of this pathetic condition. No one spoke up. Worse, no one did anything about it.”