Hema panel report: CPI (M) defends accused party MLA Mukesh; Mohanlal wants culprits to be punished

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 31 (PTI) As the aftershocks of the Justice Hema Committee report continued to rock Malayalam cinema industry on Saturday, top actor Mohanlal broke his silence over the sexual abuse allegations against his industry colleagues, calling for action against the guilty. The ruling CPI (M) defended its MLA and rape accused actor M Mukesh against demands for his resignation.

Eminent Malayalam director Ranjith was booked by police for a second instance of sexual misconduct, police said on Saturday-- this time on the complaint by a male actor. An earlier plaint by a Bengali actress not only saw the police file a case against Ranjith, but it also forced him to step down as the head of a state-run film academy.

Despite mounting clamour for his resignation by opposition parties and women's outfits, CPI(M) said Mukesh need not step down just because a rape case has been registered against him.

Announcing the party's decision, CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan asked if the MLA resigns on moral ground, then will he be brought back on the same condition if he is proved innocent.

However, said the party decided Mukesh should not be part of the film-making policy committee and be removed from that in view of the allegations against him.

Opposition Congress and BJP and their respective youth and women wings intensified their state-wide protest demanding Mukesh's resignation as MLA, post the CPI (M)'s stance.

A protest march took out by the Youth Congress activists in Kollam turned violent and many protesters and police personnel reportedly suffered injuries.

Top star Mohanlal, who had recently quit as the president of the AMMA (Association of Malayalam Movie Artists) following sexual abuse allegations against some of its members, spoke on the Hema Committee report for the first time, days after was released. Its findings about exploitation and abuse of women had sent shock waves.

The "Vanaprastham" actor said the entire film industry was answerable to the questions over the shocking revelations in the report.

Lamenting that only the actors' body was blamed for everything, he said Malayalam cinema is a huge industry where thousands of people work and AMMA cannot deal with every issue it faces.

"It is not right to crucify an outfit alone for all these issues," he said.

Talking to reporters here, he said cinema is part of the society and what happens everywhere else is happening in the industry also.

The executive panel of the association headed by him resigned recently in the wake of "unnecessary allegations" being raised against it after the release of the report.

Justifying his alleged delayed response over the findings in the report, Mohanlal said he never ran away from his responsibilities but could not appear before the media in the past few days as he was away from the state due to personal and professional commitments.

He said he had deposed before the Hema Committee twice and had no knowledge about the contents of the report, other than what has appeared on the media.

However, he said he was unaware about the report's revelations on the alleged presence of a power group in the film industry.

"I am not part of any power group in Malayalam cinema and not aware of the existence of any such group. I have heard about it for the first time," the actor said.

The release of the Hema Committee report was a good decision of the government, he said. It has given several suggestions to guide the industry in the right direction.

Meanwhile, the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) made it clear it won't protect its accused members.

An apex body of 21 trade unions working at various levels of the Malayalam film industry, FEFKA said it would voluntarily hand over relevant information to the police in this connection if the outfit comes to know about any such complaint.

FEFKA general secretary B Unnikrishnan admitted that some of the Association members were also facing allegations.

"We won't take any immediate action if just an FIR is lodged against any of our members. But, if the police later file any report, the court makes any mention against the person or he is arrested, the individual will be suspended," he said.

In a startling claim, veteran south Indian actress Radhika Sarathkumar said objectionable videos of female actors were recorded with hidden cameras inside caravans on the shooting set of a Malayalam film. She had witnessed male actors watching them on their mobile phones.

"I have seen this. I have seen videos of women changing clothes in caravans," the senior actress told a TV channel. However, she was reluctant to divulge other details, including names of the film or the actors seen watching those videos.

Meanwhile, director Ranjith was booked by police following a complaint of sexual misconduct by a male actor.

An FIR under sections 377 (unnatural offence) of the IPC and section 66 E (punishment for violation of privacy) of the Information Technology (IT) Act was lodged against the director on Friday night, a senior police officer said.

The complainant alleged Ranjith called him to a hotel in Bengaluru in 2012, asked him to strip and clicked his nude photos.

The first case against Ranjith was under IPC Section 354 (assault or criminal force on woman with intent to outrage her modesty) on a complaint by the Bengali actress. He later stepped down as the chairman of a state-run film academy. PTI LGK HMP SA