Mohanlal Breaks Silence On MeToo Scandal: State Of Affairs In Mollywood Better Than Other Industries

Mohanlal, who made his first public appearance on Saturday after stepping down as AMMA president, addressed the dissolution of the committee at the event. He welcomed the observations made by the Hema Committee and said that the state of affairs in our industry is better than other film industries. Mohanlal addressed the media following the launch of the Kerala Cricket League at Hyatt Regency in Thiruvananthapuram.

We have done a lot of good work: Mohanlal

Addressing the media, Mohanlal said he never ran away from his responsibilities and has been with the audience for the past 47 years. "AMMA is not a trade union. It is like a family. It is unfortunate that the association is being hounded. We have done a lot of good work for its members. The state of affairs in our industry is better than other film industries," he continued. Mohanlal added that he was occupied in the past week owing to the post-production work for his upcoming movie Barroz and his wife's surgery.

AMMA is not responsible for everything: Mohanlal

In the same conversation, Mohanlal added that he also gave a statement to the Hema Commission twice and hopes that culprits are brought before the law. "I have also given my statement to the Hema Commission twice in my capacity as an actor and producer. I welcome the observations of the committee. The culprits should definitely be brought before the law. That is the task of the police. We will cooperate in every way possible," the actor said. Mohanlal, concluded by saying that he was not part of any “power group” and appealed to the media to not target the Malayalam film industry.

Mollywood's #MeToo moment

The Malayalam film industry is currently witnessing an uproar after the Hema Committee report was made public. The report sheds light on the atrocities female artists face in the Malayalam cinema, such as gender equality, pay parity, sexual harassment and exploitation. In recent developments, two cases of sexual misconduct have been filed against Siddique and Ranjith. Other than them, Jayasurya, Mukesh M, Maniyanpilla Raju and VK Prakash. 

Hema Committee-like body in Tollywood and Kollywood?

Over a hundred Bengali female artists wrote to the state-run Tele Academy on Tuesday, seeking a safer workplace amid the outrage over the rape-murder of the doctor at RG Kar hospital. Among the signatories of the letter, which was also sent to the Eastern India Motion Picture Association and West Bengal Motion Picture Artistes Forum, were director Aparna Sen, actors Rupa Ganguly, Swastika Mukherjee, Paoli Dam, Sohini Sarkar, Sohini Sengupta, Bidipta Chakraborty, Chaitali Dasgupta, Anuradha Ray and Shakuntala Barua, and scriptwriter Meghatithi Banerjee. 

They have also demanded a redressal system for television, web platforms and the film industry. After Malayalam cinema, Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) is determined to expose the harassment and abuse faced by women in the Telugu film industry. Tamil actor Vishal, an SIAA Secretary, also addressed the ongoing unrest in Mollywood and assured that a committee will be made in the next ten days by Nadigar Sangam.