Text Credits: Shibul Pavithran 

The leading members of Women In Cinema Collective (WCC) namely Revathy, Padma Priya, and Parvathy had a meeting with the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) to discuss the grievances of the female actors against the organisation’s decision to re- admit actor Dileep, who is accused of kidnapping an actress. The meeting took place at Kochi, on Tuesday evening.

Source:  thenewsminute.com

Here is quick recap of what led this meeting to happen, the formation of Women In Cinema Collective (WCC) and how this movement will help in building a better and safer society for women, not just in films but otherwise as well.

Trigger and the Formation  

On  February 17, 2017, a Malayalam actress was abducted and sexually assaulted in her car for more than two hours, during which time the men also reportedly visually recorded the incident. The men who filmed her, threatened to leak the videos if she complained to the cops.

Source: silverscreen.in

The threats didn’t frighten the brave actress, who went ahead and filed a police complaint. This one act of fearlessness is what inspired members of the WCC to come together as a collective that would support the Survivor in her fight to get justice and to speak up for equal opportunity, inclusivity and security for women in a male-dominated industry. On May 18, 2017, around 25 women—comprising actors, directors, scriptwriters, singers and editors—joined hands and gave birth to Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), a first of its kind in India.  They have been conducting conversations on gender-based pay gap in the industry, sexual harassment, sexism on screen and the safety of women who work on the sets of a film.

Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) vs Women in Cinema Collective (WCC)

During this period, in a twisted gesture, the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes extended their support to both the victim and Dileep, because they were both a part of AMMA. This reaction, which treated the male suspect and the female victim equally, was a classic example of sexism in the industry and further fumed the issue. And as per the investigation that had taken place, it suggested Dileep as a culprit behind the incident and was arrested. He was jailed for about three months and later was bailed out. During his arrest period his membership was suspended and the Actor’s association AMMA expelled him. And almost after an year on June 18, the same Actors Association reinstated his membership with great flamboyance.
This episode did not go well with the WCC and they protested against the decision with firm resistance. The Survivor resigned from AMMA in protest. The Survivor’s statement read: “I am resigning not just because the accused actor has been taken back into AMMA. Even before, this actor has scuttled many of my acting opportunities. When I complained against this, AMMA had taken no action. Now, when such an unfortunate incident happened in my life, the organisation again tried to protect the accused. I resign from the organisation having understood that there is no purpose in being part of it.”

In complete solidarity with the Survivor, three more members resigned from AMMA, all of them were WCC members. Some of the questions they publicly asked were: “Isn’t there an anomaly in taking back a rape accused to the association even before the investigation is over?” “Isn’t the decision to reinstate Dileep into the association of which the Survivor is still a part of, insulting her?” “Can women expect support from male-dominated associations?”
This gloomy episode exposes the omnipresent sexism present in the Malayalam film industry, which has been hell-bent over backwards to support the male actor while ignoring the victim.

WCC’s Battle is for basic rights!

Source: cinemaexpress.com

In spite of producing some of the country’s most rebellious and progressive literature and films, we still lack equal representation of women in Kerala. Finally, now the significant voices from Malayalam film industry are coming out and revealing about casting couch, male control, pay imbalance, power games being present at large.

As women challenge to take over larger roles in the making of a film, it’s only initiatives like WCC that can drive film industries across India to follow the basic laws and rules that make it possible for women to work: A workplace culture that doesn’t encourage harassment, a safe commute after work, more representation, processes to report sexual harassment and a space where women’s voices are heard and grievances are taken seriously. WCC is a brave and absolutely fabulous initiative which is perfect weapon against the Misogynistic Malayalee Man (or the mindest).

Historically Kerala has been the hotbed for many revolutions, in cinema and out of it. This revolution, based on the spirit of one woman’s courage to against the brutal misogyny, surely has the potential to inspire women in all walks of life, all across the country.  And probably in near future other industries too can take inspiration from WCC and follow the suit. People  intentionally or unintentionally take inspiration from celebrities and film industry, and if the cinema world succeeds in treating women with respect and equality, than half the job is already done.

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