The Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) has finally broken its silence on the shocking revelations by the Justice Hema Committee report regarding the working conditions and sexual exploitation in the Malayalam film industry. On Friday, the film body addressed the media when they welcomed the report but claimed that no power groups exist in the industry as mentioned by the committee. AMMA also dismissed the casting couch allegations.
“I have been in the industry for the past four decades and I can say with absolute conviction no power group, as mentioned in the report, exists because this is a film industry and no such groups can exist, neither there is a casting couch… We have no qualms that if there is any crime anywhere, it has to be probed and we want to book the wrongdoers if there are any,” AMMA General Secretary and actor Siddique said as quoted by IANS.
However, Siddiqui also asked the authorities to implement recommendations and shared, “This report is not against AMMA. We wholeheartedly welcome the report and its findings. We want the recommendations to be implemented. Two years back, state Minister of Films Saji Cherian called us for a meeting based on the report and we gave our suggestions.”
“We have never opposed the release as it is the state government’s brief. All should understand a majority of the women actors are our members and as and when the recommendations are implemented, our own members will be the beneficiaries. The problem is that the media is putting AMMA in the dock for no reason and that hurt us,” he added.
Meanwhile, AMMA Vice President and actor Jagdeesh welcomed the report and stated that a ‘correction’ needs to be made. “Now the matter is sub-judice as the High Court has asked for the unedited version and if there are wrongdoers, then they should be punished… that is my view and that of the AMMA. We will wait for their response. If there are names, let the names come out and appropriate action will be taken. The report’s delayed release could have been avoided, had it come five years back, it would have been really nice,” he said.
The AMMA’s response comes a day after the Kerala High Court admitted a PIL for registering a criminal case on the findings of the Hema Committee. In 2017, a Malayalam actress actress was sexually assaulted following which the government formed a three-member commission. While it was headed by Justice K Hema (retired), former bureaucrat KB Valsalakumari and veteran actress Sharada were the other two team members. The report, which was submitted to the government in 2019, was made available to the public earlier this week. The report investigates several aspects of the Malayalam film industry including sexual harassment, lack of basic facilities like women’s toilets and changing rooms, pay disparity and discrimination on the basis of gender.
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