Allegations of sexual harassment haunt Tollywood again

After the Malayalam film industry, the 'Mee Too' storm now seems to be rocking the Telugu film industry as well after a colleague and actress Poonam Kaur made rape allegations against ace choreographer Jani Master, urging the Movie Artists Association (MAA) to look into a complaint she had earlier filed against renowned director Trivikram Srinivas.

As Cyberabad police intensified investigations into the Jani Master rape case, Poonam Kaur's post on X added another twist to the ongoing debate over allegations of sexual harassment in the film industry.

“If my association had lodged a complaint against Trivikram Srinivas, I and many others would not have suffered politically. Rather, I was silently ignored. I called and then complained to the management. I want the industry bosses to question Director Trivikram,” she said in her post.

Neither Trivikram nor MAA, the umbrella body of Tollywood, have responded to the demand of Poonam Kaur, who has acted in Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam films.

However, the actress did not explain the reason for her complaint.

Recently, national award-winning choreographer Jani Master was charged with sexual harassment by a 21-year-old choreographer. Police continued to investigate the woman's allegations that Jani Master sexually harassed her on multiple occasions. Police, who recorded the plaintiff's statement, will likely issue the accused with a summons for questioning.

The Raidurgam police of Cyberabad registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Jani Master on September 15 without any result. The FIR was subsequently forwarded to the Narsingi police station, which registered the case and started investigation.

Jani Master was charged with rape and intimidation.

The complainant told the police that she came in contact with the choreographer in 2017 and became his assistant in 2019. Since the complainant alleges that he sexually abused her when she was a minor, the police can invoke sections of the Prevention of Sexual Offences Against Children (POCSO) Act after a preliminary investigation.

She alleged that Jani sexually harassed her on several occasions during their shooting in different cities including Chennai, Mumbai and Hyderabad. The victim alleged that Jani Master sexually harassed her once when they were going to Mumbai. He allegedly raped her in a shooting vehicle and threatened her not to tell anyone. She also claimed that he harassed her on several occasions at her residence in Narsingi.

The woman also told police that she had received death threats from the choreographer. On August 28, she found a suspicious package outside her house with the words “This is your last shooting” written on it. She said the accused had threatened to make sure she would no longer receive any work opportunities.

Meanwhile, the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce (TFCC) has suspended Jani Master from his post as president of the Telugu Film & TV Dancers & Dance Directors Association until the investigation is completed. The Sexual Harassment Redressal Panel of the TFCC has received the complaint of the choreographer, who is a member of the association. A committee has been set up to investigate the case.

TFCC Honorary Secretary KL Damodar Prasad said in a statement that the investigation was underway.

In its interim report, the committee recommended that the male choreographer's position as president of the association be suspended until the investigation is completed.

Tammareddy Bharadwaja, Suchitra Chandrabose, Vivek Kuchibhotla and Pragati Mahadevi are the internal members of the inquiry committee. Social worker and media expert Ramalaklshmi Medapati and lawyer and POSH expert Kavya Mandava are the external members.

This is not the first time that Tollywood has faced allegations of sexual harassment. The film industry, considered the second largest in the country after Bollywood, was rocked by similar allegations during the Me Too movement in 2018.

Television presenter and actor Sri Reddy had staged a half-naked protest rally in front of the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce office in Hyderabad to raise awareness about the widespread sexual harassment in Tollywood.

The Women and Transgender Organisations Joint Action Committee (WTOJAC) has approached the High Court seeking an inquiry into the exploitation of women in the entertainment industry. The state government had set up a high-level committee comprising police officials, film producers and directors in April 2019. Headed by the then chairman of Telangana State Film Development Corporation (TSFDC), Ram Mohan, the high-level committee formed a sub-committee to make recommendations for framing policies to curb sexual harassment in the workplace.

However, the subcommittee’s report was never published.

(With inputs from IANS)