Thiruvananthapuram/Kochi. Two prominent figures in Malayalam cinema resigned from top posts on Sunday following a furore over the Justice K Hema Committee report’s shocking revelations on harassment and abuse of women.
Well-known actor Siddique resigned from the post of General Secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) on Sunday after an actress accused him of sexual harassment. Meanwhile, Malayalam film producer Ranjit resigned from the post of President of Kerala Chalachitra Academy over her allegations of misbehavior with an actress. People from Malayalam cinema were demanding Siddique’s resignation.
A Bengali film actress had accused the famous filmmaker Ranjit of misbehaving with her many years ago, after which Ranjit was criticized, but the matter came into the limelight after the Hema Committee report was made public. An actress had accused actor Siddique of sexual harassment on 24 August.
Ranjit resigned from the post of head of the Kerala government-run Kerala Chalachitra Academy on Sunday and informed about this through an audio clip sent to a television channel. The opposition Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had strongly opposed Ranjit and demanded his resignation, due to which the filmmaker had to leave the post. Ranjit said that now he does not want to remain in this post as it will harm the reputation of the Left government of the state. He also said that he will fight the allegations against him legally.
In an audio clip sent to the TV channel, he was heard saying, “Ever since I took over as the president of the academy, a certain section of people have been targeting me. I have to prove to the society that the allegations are false. I have decided to take the legal route and bring out the truth.” Ranjit said, “Many people, including the media, are criticizing me without understanding the truth. In view of all these reasons, I have decided to resign from the post.”
The actress had alleged that the filmmaker had behaved inappropriately with her when she came to shoot for a film being directed by Ranjit. However, Ranjit completely rejected these allegations of the actress and said that he himself is the ‘real victim’ in this case.
After Ranjit announced his resignation, Kerala’s Minister for Cultural Affairs Saji Cherian told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram that the government will accept the filmmaker’s resignation as soon as it is sent. The minister said that the Left government has always stood with the victims on issues related to sexual harassment and abuse. He also rejected the allegations that the minister was accused of protecting Ranjit.
Minister Saji Cherian said, “I have always taken a strong stand in favor of women on all issues. The stand of the Left government is very clear in this case as well. We are always with the victims in such cases. Strict action will be taken against those who do wrong.” Actor Siddique said that he has sent his resignation to AMMA president and actor Mohanlal. Siddique said, “Since allegations have been made against me, I decided not to continue in the post and resigned from the post.” An actress had alleged on Saturday that Siddique sexually harassed her after calling her to discuss a film.
Meanwhile, many AMMA members welcomed Siddique’s decision to step down from the post of general secretary in the wake of the allegations.
AMMA vice-president Jayan Cherthala said that it was not appropriate for Siddique to continue in his post after such serious allegations surfaced against him. Famous actor Anoop Chandran said that he had emailed AMMA president Mohanlal in the morning itself and told him about the need for Siddique’s resignation.
Chandran told reporters, “It is actually an insult to the entire institution for a person facing such serious allegations to continue in office. That is why I said in the email that if Siddiqui is not ready to step down on his own, then the executive committee should be ready to remove him.” Actress Mala Parvati said that Siddiqui’s decision to resign is “morally right”.
He said, “This is a fair decision. If the victim showed courage to come in front of the society and narrated her ordeal publicly, then we should understand the pain and humiliation she has suffered.” After the serious allegations made by the actress, protests were held against Ranjit and the Kerala government and due to this the filmmaker was forced to resign from his post.
BJP workers took out a protest march to Ranjith’s residence in Kozhikode this morning and demanded his resignation.
The report of Justice Hema Committee constituted by the Kerala government has revealed cases of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam film industry, after which demands have started being made for action against the culprits.