She also expressed surprise that Mohanlal and Mammootty were "allegedly unaware" of the issues faced by women in Malayalam cinema.
Published Sep 03, 2024 | 2:08 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 03, 2024 | 2:08 PM
Justice Hema Committee Report: Padmapriya Janakiraman says power groups exist in Malayalam. (Instagram)
Actor Padmapriya Janakiraman has termed AMMA (Association of Malayalam Movie Artists), the actors’s body in Malayalam cinema, as a”disorganised” and “ineffective” organisation.
She described the mass resignation of AMMA’s executive committee as an “irresponsible move” and noted that the organisation “lacked both backbone and intelligence”.
In an interview with Asianet News, Padmapriya stated that she did not expect the mass resignations from AMMA. She criticised the film bodies for treating the current issues “merely as sexual harassment allegations” rather than addressing the “underlying power dynamics” that enable such misconduct.
Padmapriya also criticised the Kerala government for withholding the Justice Hema Committee Report for over four and a half years. She remarked that merely forming a special investigation team was insufficient.
Further, she reiterated that sexual harassment existed in the Malayalam film industry for years due to the “power groups”. She expressed concern over the lack of clarity on the action needed to be taken based on the Justice Hema Committee’s recommendations.
The actor recounted an experience from her time in Malayalam cinema: “When I was around 25-26 years old, a leading production manager asked me, ‘Aren’t you getting too old? Maybe it’s time to stop.’ This is the kind of perspective that exists in the Malayalam industry.”
Padmapriya also expressed surprise that Mohanlal and Mammootty were “allegedly unaware” of the issues faced by women in Malayalam cinema, as mentioned in the Justice Hema Committee Report. She added that both actors should try to understand the problems if they were indeed unaware.
More women actors in Malayalam cinema have been coming forward and sharing their traumatic experiences after the release of the report.
Recently, Tamil actor Radikaa Sarathkumar mentioned that there were hidden cameras in the caravans on one of the Malayalam films she worked on. She alleged that some members of the film unit were watching footage recorded by these hidden cameras. However, she did not reveal where she discovered these activities.
Meanwhile, Radikaa Sarathkumar told the Tamil media that Malayalam actor Mohanlal had called her to ask if the incident happened on the sets of his movie. The actor shared the screen with Mohanlal in Ittymaani: Made in China (2019).
(Edited by Y Krishna Jyothi)
