Thiruvananthapuram: In the midst of the storm caused by the Justice Hema Committee report’s dark revelations of mistreatment and sexual exploitation of women in the Malayalam film industry and its treatment of the issue, the Pinarayi Vijayan government came under additional pressure on Monday when actor-turned-CPI-M legislator Mukesh was accused of misbehaviour by a former female actor, and opposition parties demanded his resignation.
The Vijayan government has been under fire since the long-awaited report was released, and the situation was aggravated when two prominent cinema personalities were forced to resign after two different female stars accused them of sexual harassment.
Siddique, General Secretary of AMMA (Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes), and Ranjith, Chairman of Kerala State Chalachitra Academy and film icon, resigned on Sunday in response to the charges.
Also read – Alleged video on rape threat to daughter of TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee goes viral
Even as the media and opposition parties focused on these developments, more claims were made, notably against Mukesh.
Actress Minu Muneer revealed on Monday that she had negative experiences with Mukesh, popular actors Manian Pillai Raju, Jayasurya, and AMMA’s previous General Secretary, Edavela Babu, between 2008 and 2013, after which she left the film profession.
Both the BJP and the Congress staged protests against Mukesh, with campaigners marching to his office and apartment in Kollam to seek his resignation as a member.
Meanwhile, Raju stated that he was recovering from surgery and could not comment sooner.
“It’s natural that more and more allegations will now surface from those who were not successful in the industry. My take is to let there be a probe,” he said, citing the case of former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who also faced widespread allegations.
On Monday only, popular actress Gita Vijayan said she faced a bad experience at the hands of director Tulasidas in the early 1990s, but he quickly denied any bad behaviour on his part.
“Perhaps I might have got angry with her when she acted and that’s quite natural. We all remember it was on an extremely high note that we wound up the shooting of the film that she acted,” said Tulasidas.
Meanwhile, AMMA Joint Secretary and popular actor Baburaj, who was expected to take over as Secretary, received an unpleasant shock when a former junior artiste said that she was summoned to his home in 2019 to discuss a film project and a sexual advance was made on her.
“I brought the complaint to the notice of the police then itself. Now even though our family is based outside Kerala, I will pursue this complaint. I got a call from a woman police official, and I have told her (about it),” said the former junior artiste.
Coincidentally, shortly after Siddique and Ranjith resigned, the Vijayan government decided to construct a high-level police team consisting of four women IPS officers commanded by a male officer.
The team, which was supposed to meet for the first time on Tuesday to discuss how to proceed, instead convened an online meeting on Monday due to further complaints. It has been determined that only female officials will meet with the female complainants and take their statements.
However, the Leader of the Opposition, V.D.Satheesan, expressed reservations regarding the team.
“We have serious doubts about the Vijayan government and their sincerity in going forward with the probe. What was the need to ask a male police official to lead the team? When the team was constituted, there was not a word mentioned about the Hema Committee, hence we have our own doubts,” the Congress leader said.
Meanwhile, there are reports that the Vijayan government made every effort to protect Ranjith because of his alleged close relationship with the son of CPI-M state Secretary M.V. Govindan, who is also a rising cine star.
A segment of the CPI-M is also dissatisfied with Mukesh, as evidenced by the Minister of State for Higher Education, R. Bindhu, who stated that an investigation into the claims is warranted.
“Let it take place as no innocent person should be taken to task, while the wrongdoer should be dealt with,” she said.
In another related incident, dubbing artiste Bhagyalekshmi, known for her strong and vocal stance on women’s rights in the film industry, stated that she received a phone call and, after a polite conversation, the caller threatened her with dire consequences if she did not remain silent on the matter.
“I will register a complaint with the police against the caller whose mobile number I have,” said Bhagyalekshmi.
For more updates Subscribe to Media Eye News
–IANS
