I wrote the following blog a long time back about the evil called casting couch that has been existent as long as cinema has existed. With the rekindled furore over the Hema Committee report against Malayalam movie industry, I guess this blog is still very much relevant. The crux of the blog was simple. The choice of saying yes or no to an offer of job in exchange for sex is not an easy thing. Especially for those who pursued their dreams facing adversities, battling everyone in their life and struggling to survive. The act of giving that choice is the evil, not doing it or not.
What people still do not understand is that the moment someone puts forward this offer from a position of more power, the one at the other end becomes a victim. It has nothing to do with whether they choose to go ahead with it for whatever reasons, or refuse the offer. Both have consequences, not good ones. And while people call the ones who agree to this offer as a means of gaining opportunities a ‘prostitute,’ no one ever points fingers at the ones who ask for ‘adjustments’ from the weaklings and are in a position to make or break them.
We had seen many allegations coming out in the industry during the first wave of the #MeToo revolution. However, the death of those allegations and shaming of those who chose to open up were caused mainly by fake victims who used the opportunity to hog limelight and gain traction. And almost as if they were waiting for a chance to call all those who spoke up as ‘sluts,’ people started generalizing every single one of them using the example of a couple of rotten apples. I had written the blog below, pretty much about the same tendency that was seen at the time.
I wouldn’t call the whole industry rotten based on a few rotten apples either. However, the problem here is the passive indifference with which such an evil is normalized in the industry. People keep talking about how there are problems in every industry. But I don’t think we can name any other industry where the ‘these things happen, don’t make a big deal out of it’ narrative is so normalized.
And that is precisely where I have a strong dislike for the ones who are meeting press and pretending to be the saviours of the industry. They speak about how there should be severe punishments, that these things should never happen, and make promises of workplace safety for their colleagues and other crew members. But where the hell have they been all these years when sexual harassment in the name of ‘adjustments’ kept happening right under their noses? Except for a handful, how many of these proud members of the fraternity ever really did anything about it?
The last time there was spotlight on the safety issues in the industry was when a lead actress was abducted and subject to brutal assault. These ‘heroes’ spoke back then as well about how they would act on the issue and make a difference. But hardly a few days later the organization called AMMA openly and blatantly held a huge press conference where they unapologetically proclaimed to the world that whether the police went ahead with an investigation or not, they would support and protect the accused. What happened to these heroes then?
Sure, don’t pronounce anyone guilty without a fair trial. But what on earth was the meaning of openly defying the entire judiciary and police force instead of staying neutral and letting law take its course? Where did these warriors of justice go then? They looked away, happy that they had done enough for their PR and went on acting like nothing was happening. And today with a renewed deluge of allegations, these warriors meet the press to add another successful chapter to their PR moves. And the stupid common man hails them as heroes yet again for some hollow words.
There are umpteen examples that show that these people have made workplace safety a joke. An actor, son of a yesteryear villain, has been in the news for very wrong reasons multiple times—paedophilia and perversion in public, stripping in front of schoolgirls as young as 10 and 12. This guy has been a repeat offender, but still finds roles in every other Malayalam movie that comes out even now. Have these warriors of justice been conveniently blind to his criminal records? Or the multiple incidents involving another actor who plays the role of an old policeman in every second movie? And what happened to the producer/actor who was accused of filming an actress and raping her while she was drunk and passed out? People called her a slut who slept with the producer for her role, and her career ended there. But the accused still continues to act and produce movies, facing no consequence whatsoever.
As for the female stooges of the organization who sit in the background of every AMMA meeting and press conference, and go to all lengths to show that they are safe and secure because they are upright women, surrounded by noble men – what do I say? Them sharing their experience of not facing any issues is not the problem. It is the way they say it—self-righteous, smug and disgusted by the ‘loose women who get into problems of their own making.’ The fact that their main weapon even now for belittling the ones who speak up is the length of dresses and sleeveless blouses should tell us something.
At the end of the day, the outcome of this wave of ‘Me Too’ allegations will be the same as the last one. People will generalize all the allegations as revenge or limelight hogging tactics as most of the victims are pretty much unknown nobodies. Those who can bring more credibility to this situation will never speak up. Worse yet, some of the ‘leaders of change’ who are currently looked at as pioneers and crusaders of this fight will turn out to be predators, which will ruin the fight for every true victim and survivor.
And as for the accused, they will all make a hero’s comeback and be worshipped as martyrs who had to go through hardships in a web of lies woven by those with hidden agendas. The dark and ugly story of the industry will continue as always, trapping more and more weaklings in its clutches.
Also published on Medium.
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