New Delhi: The Malayalam cinema industry is reeling from a controversy involving allegations of sexual harassment and abuse of women professionals. Director Ranjith and actor Siddique have resigned from their respective positions as chairman of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy and general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA). The resignations come in the wake of the Justice K Hema Committee’s report, which exposed instances of harassment and exploitation of women in the industry.
Bengali actress Sreelekha Mitra’s allegations of misconduct against filmmaker Ranjith, initially made years ago, resurfaced and gained momentum in the aftermath of the Hema Committee report’s publication, sparking fresh outrage and calls for accountability. The actress alleged that he behaved inappropriately with her during the audition for his 2009 film Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha, which starred Mammootty, Shwetha Menon, and Mythili in leading roles.
The News Minute reported that Mitra described the alleged incident while speaking to Asianet. She said, “I was talking on the phone to a cinematographer, standing in Ranjith’s bedroom balcony. As I stood there, he touched my bangles. I was uncomfortable with it, but I gave him the benefit of doubt. Then he started caressing my neck, so I excused myself and left the room.”
She added: “It was traumatic, and I was not able to share the incident with anyone. After the incident, I spent the night in my hotel room in fear, thinking, what if people come and knock on my door? I was waiting for daylight.”
Ranjith denied the allegations, claiming he was targeted by a section of people since he took charge as chairman.
“I have been targeted by a certain section of people since the day I took charge as the chairman of the academy. I need to prove before the society that the allegations are untrue. I have decided to move legally and bring out the truth,” Ranjith said in an audio clip sent to a news channel announcing his decision of resignation, PTI reported.
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Meanwhile, a woman actor accused Siddique of sexual abuse on August 24 (Saturday), claiming he had exploited her trust after inviting her to discuss a potential movie role. Siddique’s resignation was welcomed by A.M.M.A. members, who felt it was inappropriate for him to continue in his position amid serious allegations.
PTI reported that actor Anoop Chandran informed the media that he had sent an email to AMMA president Mohanlal on Sunday morning underlining why Siddique’s resignation was important. “The continuation of a person, facing serious allegations, in the post is actually an insult to the entire organisation. So I said in the email that if Siddique was not ready to step down on his own, the executive committee should be prepared to oust him,” Chandran was quoted as saying by the news agency.
Similarly, actress Mala Parvathy was quoted as saying by PTI, “The actor’s resignation is inevitable…it is an appropriate decision. If that victim woman showed the courage to come in front of the society and detailed the trauma she underwent, we should understand the intensity of pain and humiliation she had suffered.”
The Kerala government has assured stringent action against wrongdoers, with cultural affairs minister Saji Cheriyan stating that the government stands by victims of sexual assaults and abuses. The industry is under pressure to address the systemic issues that have allowed harassment and abuse to persist.
In 2017, the Hema Committee was formed to investigate the Malayalam film industry’s treatment of women, following the shocking abduction and assault of a prominent actress. The report allegedly contains disturbing details, including widespread sexual exploitation, involvement of minors, and a suspected drug mafia operating within the industry.
Speaking to NDTV, actress Parvathy Thiruvothu expressed mixed emotions about the report’s release, feeling a bittersweet sense of achievement due to the long delay and emphasised that this was “just the beginning and that more work needs to be done”.
She said in the interview: “The sense of achievement is extremely bitter-sweet for us, mainly because the first deposition happened sometime in 2018 and the report was submitted sometime in 2019. It took so many years for it to come out. The redacted version of it. In these years, we have had to really beg and grovel and fight. Allies were from the public and from media, who had to join this fight and say ‘Wait, why are you keeping it from us? Why is it not coming out?’”
“These are not happy things to read. These are not happy things to corroborate. And now, it being in an official document definitely brings more seriousness to it and we feel quite vindicated frankly. But, I would say that this is just the beginning,” the actress added.
