WCC: Leading the revolution for safe jobs in Mollywood | Latest news from India

The director – known for his numerous critically acclaimed films, including “The Great Indian Kitchen,” which feature striking portrayals of women and criticize gender roles and patriarchal norms – was speaking at a press conference on August 30. His remarks came two weeks after the release of the Justice Hema Committee's landmark report documenting systematic sexual abuse of women in the Malayalam film industry, the presence of a male “power group” calling the shots, and many other issues.

Baby is not alone. Numerous other actors, activists, technicians and former members of the film industry, including those from outside Kerala, have praised the efforts of WCC – the first all-women organisation of its kind in Indian cinema – which has been continuously fighting for the creation of discrimination-free workplaces in Malayalam cinema since 2017.

The trigger for the founding of the WCC

WCC was formed by 18 women from Kerala's film industry after a leading actress was allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted by a gang of men in February 2017. The police Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the case arrested lead actor Dileep on charges that he staged the attack as he had a personal grudge against the actress. The entire incident tore a rift in the state's film industry – many supported Dileep while others opposed him. The influential actors' body Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) expelled the actor from its main membership in 2017 but froze the decision in June 2018, drawing ire from activists and WCC members.

The WCC was founded in May 2017, three months after the actress was allegedly sexually assaulted, and was registered as an association under the Travancore Cochin Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies Registration Act, 1955. The association's website says the incident “reaffirmed the strong presence of patriarchal beliefs in the film industry and highlighted the challenges faced by survivors in their search for justice.”

Following Dileep's reinstatement in AMMA, four prominent actresses and WCC members, including the allegedly sexually assaulted actor, resigned from the actors' association, making it clear that they have lost faith in the organisation and in safeguarding their interests. In fact, the survivor said she had already lodged several complaints against the actor with the AMMA leadership years before the incident, particularly allegations that he had destroyed her chances in the industry. But AMMA did nothing to address these complaints, she claimed.

And in October 2020, actress Parvathy Thiruvoth, a founding member of the WCC who had stayed with AMMA to “fight for internal changes within the film organisation”, also announced her resignation, emboldened by then-General Secretary Edavela Babu's “absolutely disgusting” remarks about the sexual violence survivor. Asked whether the survivor would act in a film planned by AMMA, he had replied: “She is no longer with AMMA. We cannot bring back the dead.”

The WCC journey

WCC has a lateral structure and consists of a management committee that includes all founders. WCC claims that volunteers drive day-to-day activities from policy-making to creating organizational systems to running campaigns.

It was the WCC members who first met Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in May 2017 and wrote to him requesting that he commission a study to look into the problems faced by women in the Malayalam film industry. A month later, the government responded positively and announced the setting up of a commission for the purpose – chaired by retired Supreme Court judge K Hema and two other women, former actress Sarada and former IAS officer KB Valsala Kumari. It was not a legal commission, the government stressed, but a commission that could study the problems in the film industry and recommend solutions to address them. The commission submitted the report in December 2019 and after a long gap of over four and a half years, an edited version, written taking into account the testimonies of victims, was released on August 19 this year.

In September 2017, the WCC launched the #Avalkoppam or #WithHer campaign to express solidarity with the perpetrator of the alleged sexual abuse case that started trending on social media platforms. This coincided with the global #MeToo movement, where victims of sexual assault came forward with their accounts of abuse in various sectors.

Since then, the women's organisation has been involved in a range of activities – from organising discussions on misogyny projected on screen at film festivals like IFFK to screening classic films, holding meetings with the AMMA leadership to enforce gender-friendly norms and filing PILs in the Kerala High Court demanding that industry bodies abide by the rules of the Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal of Sexual Harassment Act, 2013 (PoSH Act).

The state government's decision to allocate a budget in 2019 to promote films by female directors was also seen as a result of the WCC's efforts.

However, the journey has not been smooth for the organisation. Its members have been attacked by online trolls for their public comments and their chances in the film industry have dried up because they raised their voices and got involved in the dispute with AMMA. “The WCC members have a good case for having all of them banned from cinema for openly speaking out about undesirable things happening in cinema,” the Hema panel report said.

The WCC's position was notably vindicated on August 27 this year when actor Mohanlal resigned from his post as AMMA president and the board was dissolved following serious allegations of sexual abuse against its members. The actors' association admitted that it was taking “moral responsibility” in the face of calls for resignation from those holding top positions in the association facing allegations. The wheel has turned again.

Supreme Court lawyer and social critic Harish Vasudevan wrote on Facebook: “WCC members have spoken out against injustice despite knowing that they could face professional setbacks and personal losses. They played a key role in establishing the Hema Committee and in ensuring greater workplace safety for other women.”