Actor Maala Parvathi has resigned from the Internal Complaints Committee, which was constituted recently in the Association of Malayalam Cinema Artistes (AMMA), in protest against the association’s reluctance to take disciplinary action against Malayalam film producer and actor Vijay Babu, against whom rape allegations were levelled by a young female actor. The AMMA, which was rumoured to be considering the ouster of Mr. Vijay Babu from the executive committee, desisted from such a step. According to sources, the association’s executive committee which met on Sunday waited till around 8.15 p.m. to get a letter from the producer, expressing his willingness to “temporarily stay away” from the committee until his innocence is proven. The AMMA later issued a press release saying that it has “accepted his request”.
"The Internal Committee, consisting of five members, had recommended that disciplinary action should be taken against him. Although the investigation in the rape case is progressing, it is clear that he has committed a crime by revealing the identity of the victim. We all have seen it. But, we did not expect the organisation to soft-peddle the issue and get a letter from someone who is absconding. It is legally binding on the Internal Committee to take action on such issues. There is a lot of difference between AMMA asking him to step down and him deciding to stay away," Ms. Parvathi told The Hindu.
In her resignation letter, she says "Chapter 2 of The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act 2013, deals with constituting ICC and gives clear mandates to the committee members. It aims at preventing harassment, and creating an ideal work place for women. It is not just a grievance redressal committee, but also has to implement policies to prevent harassment. It also has to recommend actions to be taken. It is legally binding that the members behave appropriately. So being a committee member is a huge responsibility and it can only be done if the committee is autonomous. But now I doubt whether I can deliver my responsibilities as per my conscience."
The AMMA's reluctance to take disciplinary action against Vijay Babu is similar to its stand in 2017 when kidnapping and sexual assault allegations were raised against actor Dileep. Although he was expelled from AMMA initially, he was quickly reinstated.
Four members of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), including the actor who was allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted, had then resigned from AMMA, in protest against the organisation’s decision to reinstate the actor.
Later, in October 2018, Dileep quit AMMA and claimed that he had resigned on his own and that the organisation had not demanded his resignation.
Meanwhile, Culture Minister Saji Cherian said that the State Government has extended an invitation to the WCC to participate in the meeting that it has convened on May 4 with various Malayalam film-related organisations to discuss the implementation of the Justice Hema Commission report to address issues of sexual harassment and gender inequality. The WCC has accepted the invitation.
Media reports on Tuesday claimed that Law Minister P. Rajeeve had said that WCC members themselves had demanded that the entire contents of the Hema Commission report need not be made public. WCC refuted the Minister's claims.
However, Mr. Rajeeve later clarified that he had said that the WCC’s demand was that the report should not be published as it is, but be implemented after redacting the details of the complainants.
"When we observed that in spite of so much money, time and effort spent on the report there was no action, WCC approached various Government agencies. We raised our voices and concerns regarding the silence from the side of the Government. It is not enough to produce recommendations without the context of the findings. The case studies [removing the names and other details of the survivors] which have led to these recommendations must be known. Setting up committees and discussions on the recommendations is not enough. The public needs to know the basis on which these recommendations have been made," said the WCC in a statement on Monday.
