On Monday, the Kerala Police filed an FIR against filmmaker Ranjith, marking the first such case amid a series of recent sexual harassment allegations against male actors in the Malayalam film industry (Mollywood). This case was initiated after Bengali actress Sreelekha Mitra lodged a complaint with the Kochi city police commissioner.
Mitra’s complaint, submitted via email, accused Ranjith of inappropriate and sexually motivated touching during a meeting for the film “Paleri Manikyam” in 2009. Kochi Police Commissioner S Syamsundar confirmed that a case under IPC Section 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) has been filed, according to PTI.
Mitra alleged that Ranjith made advances and behaved inappropriately while they were discussing a script. She claimed that after the incident, she declined to participate in the project and returned to Kolkata. She suggested that Ranjith’s influence might have deterred other actresses from speaking out about similar experiences. Ranjith has denied the allegations, claiming he is the “real victim” and has since resigned as chairman of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy to protect the Left government’s reputation.
The fallout from the Justice K Hema Committee report on harassment in the Malayalam film industry has led to more female actors coming forward with troubling stories of abuse by their male colleagues. Actress Revathy Sampath accused veteran actor Siddique of mental and physical assault, alleging the abuse occurred when she was 21. She described severe trauma affecting her professional life and criticized Siddique’s behavior during the incident.
Following these allegations, Siddique resigned as general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) and filed a counter-complaint against Revathy with the Kerala police. Meanwhile, actress Minu Muneer accused several prominent actors, including M Mukesh, Jayasurya, Maniyanpilla Raju, and Idavela Babu, of sexual abuse in a Facebook post. She detailed incidents of physical and verbal abuse during a 2013 film project, claiming the situation became unbearable despite her attempts to continue working.
Additionally, another junior artist has accused actor Baburaj, known for his roles as a villain, of sexual assault. Baburaj, however, denied the claims, suggesting that these accusations were part of a plot by certain individuals in the film industry to block his appointment as the general secretary of AMMA, replacing Siddique.
Opposition parties have criticized the Kerala government for the numerous sexual assault allegations against actors, accusing it of “protecting the predators.” Several opposition leaders have also demanded the resignations of Ranjith and Siddique in protest. In response to mounting pressure, Kerala’s Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, announced the formation of a seven-member special investigation team on Sunday to investigate the sexual assault allegations against actors.
