Malayalam Actress Sexually Assaulted by An Actor, Was Made To Do a Hugging Scene With Him | Shocking Details

Justice Hema’s committee report has revealed some shocking details about the Malayalam film industry. In 2017, an actress was sexually assaulted following which the government formed a three-member commission. While it was headed by Justice K Hema (retired), former bureaucrat KB Valsalakumari and veteran actress Sharada were the other two team members. The report, which was submitted to the government in 2019, has now been made available to the public.

The report, which investigates several aspects of the Malayalam film industry, has also mentioned a shocking incident in which an actress has alleged that she was made to do a hugging scene with an actor, who sexually assaulted her in the past. The report stated that the actress was playing the role of the man’s wife and was, therefore, required to hug him in front of the camera. Even though 17 retakes were taken, she couldn’t get through with the scene and the director was left frustrated.

“On the next day onwards she had to work with the same man as husband and wife hugging each other. That was terrible because of what was done to her during the shooting, and her resentment and hatred had reflected during shooting,” the report said as quoted by Indian Express.

“In cinema, there is a general assumption that women come to cinema to make money and she will surrender to anything. The men in cinema cannot even imagine that it is because of their passion for art and acting that a woman comes to the movie. But the impression is they are coming for fame and money and they will sleep with any man to get a chance in a movie,” it added.

“Women who are passionate about acting will be suffering all the atrocities, silently. To a question put by the committee to this witness whether other women in cinema had the same experience, she said they might have, but they are scared to state their problems openly,” it further mentioned.

Justice Hema’s committee report also investigates sexual harassment in the Malayalam film industry, lack of basic facilities like women’s toilets and changing rooms, pay disparity and discrimination on the basis of gender.