Women members of Cinema Collective meet the Chief Minister of Kerala at the Secretariat

WCC members Reema Kalingal, Revathi, Veena Paul and Dedi Damodaran after meeting Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram on September 11, 2024 | Photo credit: S. Mahinsha

Some members of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), an advocacy group championing women’s rights and gender equality in the Malayalam entertainment industry, met Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at the Government Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday (September 11). , 2024).

The meeting, though brief, assumed gravitas just a day after the Kerala High Court reprimanded the state government for not taking action so far on the Hema Committee report. A division bench of the Kerala High Court directed the government to hand over the entire report to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) and submit a report on what action can be taken based on it.

WCC members Rima Kalingal, Revathi, Veena Paul and Dedi Damodaran met Mr. Vijayan in his chamber. It was not immediately clear what happened in the closed-door meeting.

A government insider said the WCC may announce its position on the government’s proposed cinema conclave in 2025 and seek the administration’s help to protect women’s rights in the cinema workplace and make the industry environment more democratic and egalitarian through reforms, including the formation of a regulatory authority.

The committee also noted the existence of a power group at the top of the industry and indicated that this clique has the power to make or break individual stars, technicians, producers and film directors.

The Malayalam Movie Artistes Association (AMAMA), perhaps the most influential body in the film industry, denied the existence of such a malign power group.

The High Court also reprimanded the government for concealing the report without enacting a law for nearly five years. It called the alleged inaction “alarmingly lazy”.

The High Court’s observations provided the Congress and the BJP with powerful ammunition to puncture the LDF government’s pro-women stance. It has raised serious questions about the workplace safety of women in the film industry, the gender pay gap, non-payment of wages and deplorable working conditions including toilets, cloakrooms and food of questionable quality.

Meanwhile, the SIT, set up by the government to investigate allegations of sexual exploitation and harassment raised in the public domain after the publication of an amended version of the Hema Committee report, will soon begin probing the abuse cases documented by them. Quasi-judicial panel.

A top official said the SIT will implement the law by considering depositions and evidence, including surviving digital evidence, submitted before the committee as “prima facie information”.

He said the SIT members would likely meet the witnesses discreetly and record their statements on camera in the magistrate’s court for further action.

The High Court directed the government to submit all the findings of the Hema committee to the SIT, which has four women IPS officers.