The Justice Hema Committee Report has sent shockwaves through the Malayalam film industry, bringing to light the widespread discrimination and exploitation of women within the industry. The report has sparked intense discussions across various sectors, with many hailing it as a necessary step toward reform. However, actress Parvathy Thiruvothu, who has been a vocal advocate for gender equality in cinema, offers a more nuanced perspective on the report and its implications.
In a candid interview with NDTV, Parvathy expressed mixed feelings about the release of the report. “I am not okay with people saying, ‘The Malayalam industry is so rotten inside.’ No, we are good inside, which is why we are fixing it. The places where you don’t hear anything about, that’s where we should be worried,” Parvathy stated, emphasising that the report’s release is a sign of progress, not condemnation.
Parvathy described the sense of achievement as “bitter-sweet,” explaining that the journey to get the report released was long and arduous. “The first deposition happened sometime in 2018, and the report was submitted in 2019. It took so many years for it to come out. In these years, we had to beg, grovel, and fight,” she revealed. Parvathy credited her strong support system and the relentless questioning of the government for finally bringing the report to light.
Despite the vindication that comes with the report’s release, Parvathy acknowledged the challenges in maintaining focus on the bigger picture. “The Justice Hema Committee Report is a study of malpractices in the film industry. The report was generated to work toward better workplace culture and practices. But now, people are more focused on sensationalising aspects of it. It’s still a struggle to bring the focus back to what matters.”
Parvathy also shared the emotional toll of the process, recounting how the hand-written depositions were traumatic for those involved. “We turned up 6-7 hours a day, multiple days a week, believing it would benefit us and the women who come after us. But when we were told the report might never come out, it felt like the biggest betrayal. I lost all hope,” she admitted. However, the eventual release of the report brought a sense of seriousness and vindication to their efforts.
Parvathy was clear that this report should not be used to paint the Malayalam film industry in a negative light. “This is the first time this is being done in any film industry. What worries me is the lack of Internal Complaints Committees on film shoots. Isn’t that the law already? This cleanup process should inspire other industries to follow suit,” she concluded.
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