A day after Mohanlal and 17 other executive members tendered their mass resignation from Kerala film body AMMA (Association of Malayalam Movie Artists) and dissolved the organization, 17 cases of sexual abuse have been registered, according to reports.
Following the incriminating findings of the Hema Committee Report, which pointed to rampant sexual abuse, casting couch, and power cliques operating in the Malayalam film industry, the Kerala Government has formed a Special Investigation Unit to handle the mounting #MeToo claims.
According to Malayala Manorama, several actors and filmmakers will be questioned in the next few days.
Actress Sonia Malhaar, who has alleged that an actor molested her on a film set in 2013, has lodged a complaint with the SIT but cautioned the media not to associate actor Jayasurya with her complaints.
However, actress Minu Muneer, who accused several talents including Jayasurya, M. Mukesh, Edavela Babu, and Maniyanpilla Raju, stands by her claims and said that she has been receiving death threats since she made those explosive revelations.
She also posted a screenshot yesterday of a threatening message she received on social media. In an interview with NDTV, she claimed that Jayasurya hugged and kissed her without consent when she was stepping out of the toilet on a movie set in 2013. She also claimed that the actor promised her more work if she was willing to grant sexual favors. The actor is yet to respond to these allegations.
In an earlier interview with Gulf News in Dubai, actor-producer Jayasurya, who was in town to promote his movie Pretham 2, refused to answer questions about the #MeToo movement or about the lack of safety for women on a film set. He was visibly agitated and cautioned us to stick to the movie promotion alone and not take the focus away from his horror comedy.
Majority of the accused, including MLA and actor Mukesh, have denied these sexual abuse claims, saying that Muneer had earlier blackmailed him for money and that there's a conspiracy against him.
The Malayalam film industry is going through a seismic shift, with the #MeToo movement gathering steam.
Yesterday, in a watershed moment, the Malayalam film industry's top decision-making body, AMMA, took moral responsibility and dissolved itself "in light of allegations made by some actors against some of the committee."
The 235-page report, published after redacting the names of witnesses and the accused, made several damning observations including how the Malayalam film industry operates on sexual favours, boycott of actresses who don't relent, and 10-15 actors/fimmakers who control this industry.
While superstar Mohanlal has resigned from AMMA, he's yet to make an official statement about the #MeToo storm brewing in his work space. In an earlier interview with Gulf News, Mohanlal had labelled the #MeToo movement as a fad and a trend. Interestingly, other high profile actors barring Prithviraj and Tovino Thomas, are yet to comment on this burning issue and are being stonily silent.
In an interview with television channel Asianet, actress Aishwarya Lekshmi said that she had questionable faith in an organisation like AMMA and therefore refused to be a member of it. She had observed how AMMA had previously dealt with complaints of abuse with apathy and therefore chose not to be associated with AMMA.
Meanwhile, Women In Cinema Collective, an association formed after a popular Malayalam actress was sexually assualted in a moving vehicle in 2017, are hoping that reforms and systemic change will take place soon in the Malayalam film industry, which has been at the forefront of addressing sexual abuse at work place.
