The magic of cinema hides deep-rooted gender injustice

Something is clearly rotten in the state of the Malayalam film industry, going by the recently, belatedly released report of the expert committee constituted by the Kerala government in 2017, in response to a petition from the Kerala-based Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) following the abduction and sexual assault of a woman actor inside a moving vehicle in the state. The three-woman committee, chaired by Justice K. Hema, a former judge of the Kerala high court, was asked to “to study and report on various issues faced by women in cinema and to suggest solutions to them”.

From the expected but still shocking prevalence of sexual exploitation and harassment to the non-availability of essential facilities like accessible, clean and secure toilets and changing rooms, as well as safe transportation and accommodation; from the inexcusable absence of legally binding work contracts to appalling levels of inequity and discrimination in remuneration; from gender-based barriers to key occupations within the industry to the special problems faced by women aspiring to be hairstylists, make-up artists and junior artists, the picture painted by the committee is far from pretty.

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One of the most alarming revelations is the existence of a powerful lobby—described by some insiders as a “mafia” —which is believed to control almost every aspect of film-making in Mollywood, as the Malayalam film industry is known locally. In the words of committee member K.B. Valsalakumari (IAS, retired), “They are like a huge banyan tree that stifles the growth of all plants standing below it.”

The existence of this omnipotent group—reportedly comprising a relatively small number of producers, directors, actors and production controllers—has obviously been an open secret within the industry. Its stranglehold on the movie industry had, in fact, created a climate of fear that had effectively silenced almost everyone working and/or wishing to work in Malayalam movies. Some women told the committee that they could not speak out about their experiences of sexual harassment and abuse because they feared for their lives and even the lives of family members; in fact, most of them had not even shared their experiences with close relatives.

The Hema Committee’s report highlighted the unauthorised and illegal bans imposed on cinema artists out of favour with this elite group, often as a form of retaliation or control. Even prominent male actors are known to have been blacklisted and prevented from working in the past because they had stepped on the toes of one or more powerful persons, often unwittingly. As a result, both men and women were reluctant to talk about unpleasant aspects of the industry for fear of losing work opportunities. Many WCC members have experienced such boycotts over the past few years, thanks to the collective’s activism.

The committee’s report was made public on 19 August, more than five years after it was submitted to the government, thanks to Right to Information applications by 16 journalists and the State Information Commission’s order some weeks ago directing the Kerala government to make it available. At least 55 pages containing testimonies of women who had experienced sexual harassment or other sensitive information that could reveal the identities of those involved were redacted from the 290-page document before release.

The committee was obviously committed to protecting the privacy and anonymity of those who shared their experiences with it in confidence. As the chairperson has pointed out in the report, their remit was to study and report on issues relating to women in cinema, not to name or shame anybody or expose the guilty. A substantial part of the report—especially the sections written by Justice Hema and former bureaucrat Valsalakumari—is devoted to detailed, practical suggestions regarding possible actions that could help solve the severe problems currently experienced by women working in cinema.

According to Justice Hema, “the only solution to the various issues faced by women in cinema is to enact an appropriate statute and constitute a tribunal under the statute”. In her opinion, the existing laws relating to the cinema industry—all of them over four decades old—are not sufficient to deal with present-day challenges. She has proposed the enactment of a new law: The Kerala Cine Employers & Employees (Regulation) Act, and provided a list of legal provisions to address the various issues identified by the committee.

Valsalakumari has emphasised the need for written contracts and outlined the ways in which the existing disparities in remuneration can be addressed. She has also highlighted the need for “mandatory, basic online training in gender” for everyone working in the film industry, whether cast or crew. According to her, a multi-pronged strategy is required to improve women’s participation in the cinema industry, including a comprehensive film policy, covering all aspects of film production, distribution and exhibition, with special focus on gender equity. She has also highlighted the importance of gender balance in the composition of decision-making bodies in cinema.

Predictably, perhaps, much of the discussion that has followed the release of the Hema Committee’s report has focused on the prevalence and severity of the problem of sexual harassment and abuse in Mollywood and the need for investigation, prosecution, and so on. However, according to senior film editor Bina Paul, a founder-member of WCC, the collective “would like to stress that while sexual harassment is a major problem, as pointed out in the report, we would also like to see systemic changes in our work conditions and an acknowledgment of our professional status as women in the industry. We look forward to the implementation of these aspects of the report as well.”

An important point that appears to have been missed in the chatter around the report is the fact that the problems documented in it are not exclusive to the Malayalam film industry. A two-year project undertaken by WCC and Sakhi Women’s Resource Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, set out to examine the status of women and trans persons who identify as women in the film industries of south India. According to the 2020 report, Shift Focus: Women Shaping the Narrative in Media and Entertainment, discussions among women working in different areas of filmmaking, mainly in the industries based in the five southern states, made it clear that the challenges they faced were similar. There are indications that the situation in Bollywood is not all that different, either.

In addition to lessons learnt from the two conferences and other interactions that were part of the Shift Focus project, the report includes four commissioned articles on #MeToo in film industries, women and the law in film industries, women’s films and the market, and women and trade guilds in film industries. The “Observations & Recommendations” section is based on information and insights gathered in the course of the conferences, an online survey, interviews with a number of film professionals, and conversations with several relatively new associations of women working in cinema as well as some older professional organisations in the film industry, including unions.

The Hema Committee’s report is important because it was commissioned by a state government in a pioneering initiative; it has the advantage of being an official document based on testimonies from a range of people working in the Malayalam film industry. The Shift Focus report, initiated by women in cinema, has the advantage of having emerged from extensive and intensive discussions among women (and a couple of men) working in the Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu film industries. Together the two documents include a wide range of suggestions that can and should be implemented—by the governments as well as the industries and associations concerned—in order to improve conditions of work and thereby help ensure the well-being of all those who create the magic of cinema.

Ammu Joseph is a Bengaluru-based independent journalist and author. She was one of the authors of the ‘Shift Focus’ report.

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