Mollywood has been jolted by multiple sex scandal cases ever since the Hema Committee report was published. Now, Malayalam director Ranjith has come under the scanner of Kerala Police & SIT after he was accused by a male actor of forcing him to strip and sending his X-rated photos to an actress. The incident reportedly took place in 2011. The actor in his complaint to the DGPO and SIT has alleged that film-maker Ranjith invited him to a Bengaluru hotel for an audition where he sexually assaulted him. The complainant said he thought it was part of the audition.
The actor further alleged that Ranjith was on the phone with an actress while he was being sexually harassed.
As per the complainant, his without clothes photos were sent to Revathi. Ranjith also reportedly told him that Revathi liked what she saw. "When Ranjith told me to stand n*ked, he was talking to an actress. I have already revealed the name of that actress—Revathi. Ranjith told me it was Revathi. I don't know if there is any relationship between Ranjith and Revathi, but Ranjith took my photos and sent them to her," the actor said, adding, "When I asked who the photos were being sent to, Ranjith said they were sent to Revathi, adding that she liked what she saw. This incident happened during the location pack-up of the movie 'Bavuttiyude Namathil.' The director was present there in connection with the audio launch of the movie or some other related event."
Ironically, Revathi is a member of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), an advocacy group that champions women’s rights in the industry. The male actor clarified that he was severely traumatised by the act of the film-maker and he has now decided to come in front once the Hema Committee came out.
What is the Hema Committee Report?
The Justice Hema Committee was constituted by the Government of Kerala following Women in Cinema Collective's (WCC) petition in response to the 2017 actress assault case in the Malayalam cinema. The Hema Committee report has finally come to the fore a few days back. It is the findings of the three-member panel in 290-page report. The report says that Mollywood is dominated by "a mafia of powerful men” and that “sexual harassment of women is rampant”.
Headed by a former judge of the Kerala High Court and set up by the state government in 2017, the report reads, "There are no toilets, so women have to go in the bushes or behind thick trees. During their periods, not being able to change their sanitary napkins for long hours and holding urine for long causes physical discomfort and makes them sick, in some cases needing hospitalisation."
Interestingly, the Hema Report was submitted to the State Government in 2019, but it has now been published. The panel was set up after the horrific sexual assault of actress Bhavana Menon. As per reports, Bhavana Menon was assaulted by a group of men while travelling from Thrissur to Kochi in February 2017. Dileep, one of Mollywood biggest actors and Menon's co-star in half a dozen films, was named as an accused and charged with criminal conspiracy. He denied the charges, but was arrested and held in custody for three months.