Serious lapse found

The state government took several steps in the film sector, including holding a film conclave and formulating policies, but none of them proved effective, and the latest incident, resulting in the arrest of director Ranjith, is proof that sexual exploitation in this sector continues unabated. The most important of the government decisions was to introduce an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) on all film shooting sets.

Many such committees have failed miserably in providing justice to the victims. Recent incidents in this sector indicate that some still maintain the old stereotype that actresses must 'compromise' to get good roles. The people who aid such people in crimes are rewarded with renewed contracts in the industry.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed as part of the Hema Committee report. However, no one came forward to give a statement before the SIT. With this, all 34 cases investigated by the SIT were wrapped up.

Has the government investigated why the survivors were not ready to disclose details? It must be assumed that the dominance of a section of people in the film industry has evolved into an underworld-like scenario within the industry. These people will not hesitate to threaten the victims and even kill their budding careers. Everyone knows how much Parvathy Thiruvoth, a blessed actress, was ostracised for her collaboration with the women's collective W.C.C. in the film industry.

Ranjith was arrested for being rude to the actress who played the lead role in his film. Ranjith is a class apart when it comes to screenwriting. Through his pen, Ranjith gave Malayalees dozens of memorable superhits to forever cherish. Ranjith might have taken this recognition and respect as a way to try his shenanigans on novice actors.

Two sexual harassment complaints were filed against Ranjith before. One of them led to his resignation as the president of the Film Academy. But it failed to have an impact on the director. Ranjith must have thought that his political influence would help him out of the quandary every time. The prosecution has mentioned in the report submitted to the court that there was a serious lapse on Ranjith's part. The court also remanded Ranjith in police custody for three days.

The prestige Malayalam cinema achieved on the world cinema map is due to the contributions of excellent artists. Many people like Adoor, Aravindan, Shaji N. Karun, Santosh Sivan and others are in that line. Among the new generation, Dr Biju is a director who has achieved great recognition on that path. However, Ranjith made a derogatory remark against Biju during the former's tenure as the chairman of the Academy.

Neither the cultural department nor the minister uttered a single word against it. If we continue to hesitate to stop such character defects, Malayalam cinema would soon pay a heavy price. All those who sit at the head of AMMA, the organisation of actors in the film industry, are women. AMMA office bearers should come forward to publicly denounce such exploiters.