T’wood actors urge Govt to release 2-year-old report on harassment In Industry
T’wood actors urge Govt to release 2-year-old report on harassment In Industry
Backlashes of the Hema Committee report on gender discrimination and sexual harassment in the Malayalam film industry have conquered the Telugu film industry.
Women actors in Tollywood led by Samantha Ruth Prabhu have urged the Telangana govt to make public the 2022 findings of a sub-committee report on workplace sexual harassment in the Telugu film industry.
Apart from Samantha, director Nandini Reddy, actress Lakshmi Manchu, singers Chinmayi Sripada and Kousalya, anchors Suma Kanakala and Jhansi and many others also shared a common message on their social media platforms, urging the govt to make the report public.
The sub-committee constituted with senior govt officials, police and civil society members in 2019, submitted its report in July 2022. However, the findings of the report have not been made public by the govt so far. According to popular voices from the Telugu film industry the sub-committee looked into complaints of sexual harassment, workplace conditions, wages, and other issues after speaking to various associations of the film industry.
A news agency had accessed parts of the report and given some of the details, including how none of the industry bodies had implemented the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, better known as the POSH Act.
Samantha, who has acted in more than 50 Telugu and Tamil films in her 14-year-long career, voiced that they, the actors, hereby urge the Telangana govt to publish the sub-committee report on sexual harassment, which can help frame govt and industry policies for women in the Telugu film industry.”
It was actress Sri Reddy’s semi-nude protest in 2018 which prompted the Telugu film industry bigwigs to announce the setting up of a committee against sexual harassment and to look into complaints of women actors. Sri Reddy generated a flutter in front of the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce premises six years ago with her protest which brought the issue of alleged sexual harassment and the existence of a casting couch in the Telugu film industry.
In a post on her official Instagram handle on Aug 30, Samantha articulated that We, the women of the Telugu film industry, welcome the Hema Committee report and applaud the persistent efforts of the WCC in Kerala, which has laid the path to this moment.
Speaking out in connection with the scandal, she recalled that taking a cue from Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) in Kerala, a support group for women in the Telugu film industry called The Voice of Women (VOW) was set up in 2019.
Samantha was perhaps the only actress to publicly express her disgust at a film poster in which the woman actor was depicted in a demeaning manner while the film’s hero was shown as a heroic personality.
Suma in her post on X on Aug 27 said: “Kudos to ‘Women in Cinema Collective’ from Malayalam film industry for their firm commitment to Fight for a Gender-balanced workplace. It’s important to create a safe space for women and an equitable work environment where all can work towards the great craft of filmmaking (sic).”
The Hema Committee report was made public on Aug 19. The women actors of the Telugu film industry while demanding a similar action from the Telangana govt said they hope to see a significant step towards ensuring a safer and more equitable working environment for women in Tollywood.
In a post on X on Aug 30, actress Sri Reddy made similar comments about ‘foxes’ in the industry. “If we dare to fight, we are branded as arrogant and as not having good character.
News Edit K.V.Raman
