- Friday, February 21, 2025
Association of Malayalam Movie Artists general secretary Sidhique said it favours police investigation into the “isolated” incidents of offences against women in the film industry
By: Shajil Kumar
THE Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) on Friday said it welcomes the findings and recommendations in the Justice Hema Committee report and was in favour of implementing them.
While welcoming the report, AMMA general secretary Sidhique also said that he and the association were disappointed with the general remarks circulating in the public domain condemning the film industry as a whole for the actions of some individuals.
The actor said the association was in favour of a police investigation into the “isolated” incidents of offences against women in the film industry and punishing the individuals responsible for the same.
“We are always with the victims. We will never protect the culprits,” he said at a press conference held here following severe criticism of AMMA over its silence till now regarding the report.
Similar views were expressed by the association’s Vice-President Jagadish who also apologised for the delay in a response from AMMA with regard to the committee’s report.
He said that whether the incidents of sexual harassment and exploitation were isolated or several, they have to be investigated and the culprits punished.
At the same time, he also said that if the government had not kept the committee’s report in “cold storage for five years”, many of the complaints made subsequently could have been avoided.
He also said that the government has to explain why some pages of the report were not allegedly disclosed even though there was no bar on making them public.
The actor said that now further course of action has to be determined by the Kerala High Court which has called for the complete report in a sealed cover.
Jagadish said if any of the members of AMMA are found to be responsible for sexual harassment and exploitation of women actresses, the association would immediately initiate disciplinary action against them.
Delayed response
Earlier, at a press conference held in Kochi, Sidhique explained why the association did not respond till now regarding the report which was made public on August 19.
He said that many of the association members had been rehearsing for some programme for the last several days and were busy with that when the report was made public.
“We got free yesterday morning. Thereafter, we sought the views of all our members and executive committee and now we are here before you. This is the reason for the delay in a response from our side,” he said.
Sidhique said that AMMA was “surprised” by the contents of the report as it revealed many things which the association was unaware of.
Jagadish, too, said that the association was “shocked” by the revelations.
Sidhique further said that while AMMA did not have the power to bring about changes in the industry based on the findings and the recommendations in the report, it will cooperate with the government’s efforts to do so.
“It is the government which has to bring about the changes based on the report,” he said.
No ‘power group’
The actor also denied the presence of any “power group” in the industry which decides who should act in a film and who should not, a view with which Jagadish also concurred.
“Actors who are successful get more films. That is how cinema works. It is the people who decide which film has to be successful. If some group decides on the cast of a film, the industry will not be able to function properly. It will come to a halt,” the AMMA general secretary said.
He was responding to reporters’ queries about claims by some in the industry that there was a power group which takes decisions on who should be cast and who should be avoided.
Both actors also denied the presence of any ‘mafia’ which controls the functioning of the industry.
Sidhique also said that many positive changes have come in the film industry in the last 4-5 years with more facilities being provided to artists on sets unlike in the past.
Both Sidhique and Jagadish also welcomed the conclave of the film industry representatives planned by the state government to address the issues mentioned in the report.
Jagadish also said that if the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), an organisation for women working in the Malayalam cinema industry, had reservations against any persons participating in the conclave, then the state government will have to remove those individuals and AMMA will support any such decision.
He was replying to queries from reporters regarding purported concerns among some female actors that some of the “culprits” too might be part of the conclave.
At the press conference, one of the AMMA executive members – actress Jomol – said that she never had any unpleasant experiences in her long career in the film industry.
The Hema Committee report, a redacted version of which was made public earlier this week, has recorded explosive accounts of harassment, exploitation and ill-treatment of female professionals in the film industry and alleged that a “criminal gang” is controlling the industry where unyielding women are squeezed out. (PTI)
