#MeToo Storm In Mollywood: From Ranjith To Siddique, Prominent Figures Accused Of Sexual Harassment So Far

Women from the industry are not shying away from naming the predators and harassers. On Monday, names of four well-known actors – M Mukesh, Jayasurya, Edavela Babu and Maniyanpilla Raju – and a production controller named Noble popped up as a female actor levelled sexual abuse allegations against them.

Minu Muneer detailed her unpleasant experiences with these prominent celebs in a Facebook post. She said she was subjected to verbal and physical abuse while working for a project and they were the reason why she left the Malayalam film industry. Minu, while speaking to the media said that Mukesh asked her for sexual favours in exchange for membership in the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA).

She claimed meeting Mukesh while shooting the film 'Calender'. ''During the shoot, he asked me to come to his home in Vyttila. When I refused, he implied that everyone makes such compromises. Later, when I approached Innocent for help to secure AMMA membership, he directed me to someone else. However, Mukesh later confronted me, asking, ‘You are trying to get into AMMA without my knowledge? Nothing happens in Malayalam cinema without my knowledge,’” said the actress. 

The actress also alleged that Jayasurya, 45, groped and forcibly kissing her on the sets of the film ‘De Ingottu Nokkiye’ in 2008. Further elaborating on her ordeal, she said, “The shooting was happening near the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram. While I was returning from the restroom, Jayasurya groped me from behind and forcibly kissed me. I told him it was wrong. He also invited me to his apartment which I refused.”

Accusing senior actors Edavela Babu and Maniyanpilla Raju, the actress said that during the shooting of ‘Da Thadiya’, the latter wanted to visit her hotel room and when she refused, he expressed his anger on set, the next day. She also claimed Babu asked for sexual favours in exchange for AMMA membership.

Mukesh, 67, who also happens to be the MLA of CPI(M) from Kollam debunked the accusations, claiming that Muneer is attempting to blackmail him. "There is no basis in the allegations. An objective investigation is inevitable. Only then will the public realize the reality," said Mukesh, as per reports. Raju also denied the allegations levelled against him. He told the reporters that he welcomes any investigation into them. ''There are dubious interests at play here and the truth must come out,'' he added.

Another junior artiste told the media she was subjected to sexual assault by actor-producer Baburaj in 2019. He has denied the accusation and said he would “initiate legal action” against the junior artiste. Baburaj is the joint secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA).

Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra filed a complaint against National award winning filmmaker Ranjith with the Kochi city police commissioner, as per reports. In her complaint, Mitra accused Ranjith of misbehaviour as she alleged that he inappropriately touched her with sexual intent at a hotel in 2009, after she was invited to act in the film ‘Paleri Manikyam’. On Monday, the police registered an FIR against the director. Ranjith rubbished the claims and said he was the 'real victim' in the case. On Sunday, he stepped down as the chairman of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy, a state-run institution.

Another influential figure in the Malayalam cinema business is actor Siddique. As per recent reports, the Kerala Police has filed an FIR against the actor in connection with the sexual assault allegations by an actress. Trivandrum Museum Police registered the case under the non-bailable offence of rape based on the actress' complaint.

As per the report, the case happened in 2016 but the actress was not ready to come out. On Tuesday, the actress filed a complaint with the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that has been constituted to investigate the sexual harassment allegations in the Malayalam film industry.

The actress claimed that Siddique called her to his room in the Mascot Hotel, where he allegedly sexually abused her.

Siddique filed a complaint with the Director General of Police (DGP), claiming that he is innocent and the allegations are made to ruin his image. He stated he first met the actress only once in 2016, in the presence of her parents.

Earlier this week, following the allegations, he resigned from the post of General Secretary of AMMA.

Director VK Prakash is also in the list of alleged perpetrators. A young writer, has accused him of misbehaviour and has filed a complaint with SIT to probe the allegations of sexual misconduct against popular figures in the the industry, as per a report in Mathrubhumi.

The comprehensive Hema Committee report, brought to light some sinister revelations about the Malayalam film industry. It not only highlighted the extreme discrimination and exploitation faced by female artistes or workers, but opened a Pandora box of ugly truths of the industry. It stated that there is a existence of a strong lobby of senior directors, producers, and technicians, lack of basic amenities on sets, abysmal working condition, pay disparities, presence of casting couch and several ill practices.

While many celebs such as Tovino Thomas, Lakshmi Manchu, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Parvathy Thiruvothu and others have spoken about the findings of the Hema Committee report, we haven't heard a peep fromthe veterans of the Malayalam film industry including Mohanlal and Mammootty. Mohanlal, meanwhile has resigned as the President of AMMA. Other members of the executive committee have also submitted their joint resignations.

ICYDK: During the #MeToo campaign in 2018, Mohanlal called the movement a “short-lived fad”, at the charity fund-raiser Onnanu Nammal. The 'Neru' actor said, “There’s no big problem in the Malayalam film industry. You shouldn’t think of #MeToo as a movement, actually. It’s a fad, and it’s turning into something of a fashion. Anything like that will have a lifespan for a bit''.

Stepping down from the association is not a solution. Strong intervention is expected from a megastar like Mohanlal instead of him being tight-lipped about the movement.