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The Latest Breaking News from Hema Committee

Dileep verdict: Editorials question ‘patriarchal elements’, decision to welcome back actor

Earlier this week, the Additional Special Sessions Court in Ernakulam delivered its verdict in a case that became one of Kerala’s most closely watched trials in recent memory. After a five-year trial, actor Dileep, accused of masterminding the abduction and sexual assault of an actor, was found not guilty in…

Newslaundry

Women filmmakers were funded, then ‘harassed’ and ‘insulted’: Kerala film corporation controversy

Long before the release of the Hema Committee report in August 2024, which exposed the deep fractures beneath Malayalam cinema’s progressive façade, filmmakers Indu Lakshmi and Mini IG had sought to expose the particularly hypocritical brand of inclusivity that shaped Kerala’s film industry. Both of them were grantees of the…

Newslaundry

Malayalam cinema’s reckoning: The Hema report and its aftermath, five months later

2024 was an eventful year for Malayalam cinema, during which its best and worst facets became the centre of a nationwide discussion. All the talk in the first half of the year was about the brilliance of movies like Aavesham, Manjummel Boys, Premalu, and Bramayugam.

Newslaundry

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Actor Padmapriya on Hema panel report’s impact and changes

What does the Malayalam film industry look like post the Hema Committee report?

Newslaundry

What’s behind India’s latest #MeToo movement in Malayalam cinema?

A probe panel’s report has lifted the veil on widespread sex abuse in the industry, with more allegations emerging too.

Al Jazeera

‘What are men fearing?’ Kavitha Lankesh on pushback over PoSH committee in Kannada film industry

In the aftermath of the Hema Committee report that exposed widespread sexual harassment in the Malayalam film industry, women’s bodies in other film industries have demanded that similar committees be established to address the issue of women’s workplace safety.

Newslaundry

Women hair and makeup artists in Malayalam cinema pay the price for speaking out

Trigger warning: Mentions of sexual harassment

Newslaundry

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Same formats, few deep-dives: The media misses the women safety news peg again

Rape, sexual assault, harassment, women’s safety – these words have found their way to the front pages of many newspapers in the last several weeks.

Newslaundry

Hema Committee: Arundhati Roy, Vrinda Grover write to CM Pinarayi to bring law to address key issues

Following the release of the Hema Committee report, which revealed the abysmal working conditions and rampant sexual harassment faced by women in the Malayalam film industry, prominent personalities from across the country have written to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan demanding a “360-degree approach” to fulfil the purpose of the committee.

Newslaundry

Young women actors, technicians say abuse still thrives in Malayalam film industry

Covid lockdowns were just being lifted when Anuja* moved to Kochi with aspirations of writing and eventually directing films. She came to work in Malayalam cinema a few years after the arrest of actor Dileep for allegedly orchestrating the sexual assault of a female colleague in 2017. The problems in…

Newslaundry

Reporters Without Orders Ep 335: #MeToo crisis, no accountability for death after police brutality

This week, host Shivnarayan Rajpurohit is joined by Newslaundry’s Sumedha Mittal, The News Minute’s Sukanya Shaji, and independent journalist Nidhi Suresh.

Newslaundry

Abuse, resignations, power nexus: Everything about Kerala’s #MeToo crisis

A spate of #MeToo stories have surfaced from the Malayalam film industry since the release of the Hema Committee report on the working conditions of women in the regional cinema. FIRs related to sexual assault have been lodged against at least four prominent actors of the industry.

Newslaundry

Mohanlal and AMMA did not redeem themselves — they had to go

In a span of two days, all the office-bearers of one of the biggest organisations of actors in India – the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) – have quit. They had to, for in the days following the release of the Hema Committee report – containing disclosures of abuse…

Newslaundry

Powertrip: Kerala govt’s film industry dilemma, who will bag AIADMK’s poll strategy contract

The fallout from the Hema Committee report continues to unfold, with new perpetrators being named everyday. While the en masse resignation of the leadership of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists might have solved one headache, the Kerala government seems to have another, more problematic issue to deal with. Two…

Newslaundry

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Newslaundry

Hema Committee report: Kerala government cannot ignore mounting discursive evidence

Nearly a week after the Hema Committee report unleashed what can only be called the second coming of the MeToo movement in the Malayalam film industry, many debates are still pitting ‘formal complaints’ as a binary opposite to women’s ‘informal’ narratives of their experiences of sexual harassment. “Let the women…

Newslaundry

Why three women’s responses to Hema Committee report call for a feminist introspection

“I have not heard knocks on my door. I don’t know of safety issues in the Malayalam film industry,” said actor Jomol in response to the findings of the Hema Committee report on the working conditions of women in Malayalam cinema. Jomol, who began her career as a child artist,…

Newslaundry

Let Me Explain: What is Hema Committee report on Malayalam cinema all about?

The Malayalam film industry, which is known for its progressive films, also has a dark underbelly. As per findings of the Justice Hema Committee, set up by the Kerala government, “Sexual harassment is the worst evil that women face in the film industry.”

Newslaundry

‘Lobby, mafia still exists in Malayalam film industry’: Actor Parvathy on Hema Committee report

The Justice Hema Committee Report on the working conditions of women in Malayalam cinema, released to the public on August 19, said that a powerful lobby controls the industry where sexual harassment and abuse is rampant. In response, the Kerala government has said that police cases cannot be filed on…

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Newslaundry

Hema Committee report reveals power abuse, harassment, manipulation in Malayalam cinema

“Sexual harassment is the worst evil that women face in the film industry,” declares the Justice Hema Committee Report on the working conditions of women in Malayalam cinema.

The Hindu

State govt. comes under criticism for ‘unilaterally’ forming panel on film policy

Govt forms panel to draft film policy; stakeholders criticise unilateral move. Committee headed by filmmaker Shaji N. Karun to prepare policy within two months. WCC says govt has "troubling disregard" for Hema Committee report. Minister for Cultural Affairs says wide consultations to be done before finalising policy.

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