Experienced actors report on harrowing experiences in Malayalam cinema

The Hema Committee report has opened a Pandora's box in Malayalam cinema and every day, new disturbing revelations of sexual abuse are coming to light. The latest such revelation comes from well-known actress Radhika Sarathkumar, who recounted her experience of working on a Malayalam film set.

The veteran actress has revealed that hidden cameras were placed in the heroines' trailers to record nude scenes, which were later widely circulated among several men involved in the film. She explained that the footage was stored in separate folders, with each folder labelled with the names of different actresses.

Radhika said she personally witnessed men on set watching these recordings on their mobile phones, which is why she ended up staying in a hotel room and refrained from using a caravan for the entire shoot, reported Asianet News.

She refused to reveal the name of the film because she did not want to embarrass anyone.

“I have seen women come to me and say, 'Please help us.' This is not just true for Kerala, but for all languages,” said Radhika.

She welcomed the publication of the Hema Committee report and stated that she had had similar experiences to those described in the report.

“I've been in the industry for over 40 years… Of course people have treated me badly,” she said.

Radhika also expressed concern about the silence of men in the industry when it comes to issues such as sexual abuse and discrimination.

“No man opened his mouth, no man said anything… the responsibility always lies with the woman,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Special Investigation Team set up by the Kerala government to look into complaints of sexual abuse in Malayalam cinemas said it would record Radhi's statements and initiate further investigation.

Another disturbing revelation comes from veteran actress Maala Parvathy, who claimed to have been sexually abused while shooting for a Malayalam film in 2010. Apoorvaragam.

“There was a scene in the film where Nancy (Nithya Menen), who was my daughter in the film, was playfully running around me and pulling my sari. The man who played the role of my husband was supposed to playfully touch Nancy. During the shot, he reached out his right hand to touch Nancy but with his left hand he grabbed me tightly,” Parvathy said in an interview with News18.

She said she felt severe pain but was too dazed to react immediately.

The director, Sibi Malayil, requested a reshoot in which the male actor's hands were not visible, she said.