Indian ‘Mollywood’ cinema shocked by MeToo abuse allegations

Her revelation was sparked by an explosive government report detailing widespread sexual harassment in an industry dominated by powerful, wealthy men who are convinced that an actress willing to kiss on screen would do the same in real life.

“I stayed awake all night,” Mitra, 51, told AFP.

Mitra was invited to a meeting at the director’s house, where he lured her into her room for a phone conversation with a cameraman.

“He started playing with my hair and neck… I knew if I didn’t say anything then, his hand would move to other parts of my body,” she said, describing events from 2009, when she was 36.

She left and returned to her hotel.

“The intentions behind his actions were clear to me… I was terrified.”

Her case and nearly a dozen others have led to a MeToo reckoning in the industry, with at least 10 prominent figures facing charges, Indian media reported.

Kerala’s Mollywood is known for critically acclaimed films with strong and progressive themes. This is a change from the big dance and song numbers of Mumbai’s Hindi-language Bollywood.

The industry is prolific, churning out as many as 200 films a year. These films are not only popular with the 37 million Malayalam speakers in South India, but are also dubbed and streamed across the rest of India and beyond.

Her films have won international awards, including the 1999 satire Marana Simhasanam (“Throne of Death”), which won the Camera d’Or at Cannes.

This year’s survival thriller “Manjummel Boys” grossed $29 million at the box office, making it the highest-grossing Malayalam film ever and the fifth highest-grossing in India this year.

The industry report, published on August 19, found that female actors face the widespread “worst evil”: sexual harassment.

The report was published by the Hema Commission, headed by a former Supreme Court judge. The commission was set up after a prominent Malayalam actress alleged sexual assault in 2017.

Gopalakrishnan Padmanabhan, a leading Malayalam actor, better known by his stage name Dileep, was arrested for allegedly orchestrating the attack.

He was jailed for three months before being released on bail. The case is still ongoing.

But the report’s publication has fueled discussion about the much broader problem of chronic violence against women and encouraged people like Mitra to speak out publicly for the first time.

It was said that women who considered talking about sexual abuse were silenced by threats to their lives and those of their families.

Award-winning actress Parvathy Thiruvothu, 36, called the investigation a “game changer” and a “historic moment”.

“There was this idea that women working in the industry should be grateful for the opportunity given to them by the men who hired them,” said Thirutothu, a member of the activist group Women in Cinema Collective.

Allegations of abuse in Indian cinema are not new.

In 2018, a wave of protests arose, shortly after the MeToo movement broke out in Hollywood in 2017 against the disgraced American film producer Harvey Weinstein.

But Thiruvothu called the latest allegations more than ‘MeToo part two’.

“Everything is shaking,” she told AFP.

“It is no longer an individual to individual complaint. It is about a systemic structure that continues to fail women.”

Since the report, several top figures have been accused.

The Malayalam Film Artists Association was dissolved after its president resigned on ‘moral grounds’. There were also some accused members.

Ranjith Balakrishnan, 59, chairman of the state film academy, has also quit.

Balakrishnan, who denies any wrongdoing, was the man who accused Mitra of sexual harassment.

Police have filed a charge of indecent assault on a woman, a non-bailable offence.

Mitra, who had only discussed the incident with an industry colleague until the report was published, told AFP that Balakrishnan had “abused his power”.

Thirutothu had a message for all the women in the film industry who have survived sexual abuse.

“You are a talented artist… don’t listen to anyone who tells you to find another job if it’s so hard for you,” she said.

“This is your industry, just as much as anyone else’s. Speak up so we can take the space that is rightfully ours.”