MeToo abuse allegations shake India’s “Mollywood” cinema

The revelation was prompted by an explosive government report documenting widespread sexual harassment in an industry dominated by powerful and wealthy men who believe that if an actress is willing to kiss on screen, she would do so in real life.

“I stayed awake all night,” Mitra, 51, told AFP.

Mitra was invited to a meeting at the director's house, where she said he lured her into his room for a phone call with a cameraman.

“He started playing with my hair and my neck … I knew if I didn't say anything now, his hand would move to other parts of my body,” she said, describing events that took place in 2009, when she was 36.

She left and returned to her hotel.

“The intentions behind his actions were quite clear to me… I was petrified.”

Her case and nearly a dozen others have sparked a MeToo reckoning in the industry; at least 10 prominent figures have been charged, according to Indian media.

Based in Kerala, Mollywood is known for its critically acclaimed films with strong and progressive themes, a change from the big dance and song numbers of India's vast Hindi-language Bollywood in Mumbai.

The industry is prolific, producing up to 200 films a year that are popular not only among the 37 million Malayalam speakers in southern India, but are also dubbed and streamed in the rest of India – and abroad.

His films have received international awards, including the 1999 satire Marana Simhasanam (Throne of Death), which won the Camera d'Or at Cannes.

This year's survival thriller “Manjummel Boys” grossed $29 million at the box office, making it the highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time and the fifth highest-grossing film in India this year.

The industry report, released on August 19, said actresses face the widespread “worst evil” of sexual harassment.

The report was released by the Hema Committee, which was set up under the chairmanship of a former Supreme Court judge after a leading Malayalam actress reported that she was sexually assaulted in 2017.

Gopalakrishnan Padmanabhan, a well-known Malayalam actor, better known by his stage name Dileep, was arrested for allegedly orchestrating the attack.

He was detained for three months before being released on bail. The case continues.

But the publication of the report has sparked a discussion about the much larger problem of chronic violence against women and encouraged people like Mitra to speak out publicly for the first time.

It says that women who wanted to speak out about sexual assault were silenced by death threats and threats against their families.

Award-winning actress Parvathy Thiruvothu, 36, called the investigation a “groundbreaking” and a “historic moment.”

“There was a perception that women working in the industry should be grateful that the men who employ them give them a chance,” says Thiruvothu, a member of the campaign group Women in Cinema Collective.

Allegations of abuse in Indian cinema are nothing new.

It experienced a major surge in 2018, shortly after the MeToo movement broke out in Hollywood in 2017 against disgraced US film producer Harvey Weinstein.

But Thiruvothu described the latest allegations as more than “MeToo Part Two.”

“It's shocking,” she told AFP.

“It's no longer a complaint from individual to individual. It's about a systemic structure that continues to fail women.”

Since the report was published, several top actors have been charged.

The Association of Malayalam Movie Artists was dissolved on “moral grounds” following the resignation of its chairman; some members are also among the accused.

Ranjith Balakrishnan, 59, chairman of the state film academy, has also resigned.

Balakrishnan, who denies any wrongdoing, was the man Mitra accused of sexual harassment.

Police have charged him with insulting a woman's modesty, a crime that cannot be bailable.

Mitra, who had only mentioned the incident to one industry colleague until the report was published, told AFP that Balakrishnan had abused “his power”.

Thiruvothu sent a message to all women in the film industry who have survived sexual assault.

“You are a gifted artist…don't listen to anyone who tells you to find another job if you're having such a hard time,” she said.

“This is your industry, just like anyone else's. Raise your voice so we can take the place that is rightfully ours.”