Rajinikanth says he is unaware of Hema Committee report that took Malayalam film industry by storm

Rajinikanth

The Hema Committee report has taken the Malayalam film industry by storm. The report highlights the poor working condition of women in the film industry, the sexual harassment faced by female artists and the existence of a power lobby dominated by men. After the report was out, some women came forward and narrated their ordeal in front of the media and named their perpetrators. While many actors have so far reacted to the Hema Committee report being made public, superstar Rajinikanth has made a rather shocking statement.

When reporters confronted Rajinikanth recently, he was questioned about his take on the Hema Committee report that has taken his neighbouring state by storm. He said, "What? I am not aware of it, sorry."

Ever since the report came out audiences were eager to hear what superstars Mammootty and Mohanlal had to say about the same. While Mohanlal addressed questions of journalists at a press conference on Saturday, Mammootty expressed his opinion through a social media post.

What Mammootty said about Hema Committee report:

In a social media post, Mammootty welcomed the Hema committee report, saying that he was waiting for the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) and its leadership to express their opinion before airing his thoughts.

The superstar said, "All the good and bad in society will be reflected in cinema too, as people in it are just a cross-section of the society. But, since the film industry is always under the scrutiny of the public, the consequential and inconsequential happenings will end up becoming the focus of discussions."

He called upon the professionals in the film industry to be careful and vigilant to ensure that nothing untoward happens in this sector.

He said, "The government formed the Hema committee to study the industry and submit a report after an incident that should never have happened."

The Malayalam superstar also said that the industry wholeheartedly welcomes and supports the recommendations and solutions outlined in that report.

Mammootty said, "It is high time that all associations in the film industry join hands to implement them."

He said that the police investigation was progressing effectively on the allegations which were raised recently and expected that the police would investigate it honestly.

Mammootty said, "Let the court decide the punishments."

He also said that the practical recommendations of the committee report should be implemented and necessary legislation should be enacted if there are legal hurdles.

What Mohanlal said?

Since the report surfaced, Mohanlal has been targetted as he was the president of AMMA (Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes). As the call-outs against him kept increasing, on Tuesday, the entire 17-member AMMA executive stepped down.

"You all know that I hail from the state capital where my 47-year film career began, and you also know, I am not the one who is good at handling the media. I was not here as I was mostly in Gujarat, Mumbai and Chennai. In between, I had to attend to my wife's surgery and was beside her. Also, I was completing the post-production work of my directorial debut and was working with a foreign production team. But now due to various issues, my film release has been put on hold," said Mohanlal while interacting with the media on the sidelines of the launch of the Kerala Cricket League event.

"I was never in hiding and I don't have to do it as all of you know me. The film industry is just one segment and these things happen everywhere. I appeared before the Hema Committee twice and as an actor and producer I answered all the questions put to me," said Mohanlal.

"Please understand that AMMA is not a trade union, instead, it's a family of around 500 members formed for the welfare of its members. I was the president twice and this time I was not keen, but due to pressure from many, I again decided to stand (for AMMA elections)," said Mohanlal.

"... things have now come to such a stage that it looks as if AMMA alone is responsible for all this, which is not acceptable as answers have to come from all the sections of the entire film industry. The need of the hour is all in the industry have to go forward in unison," he added.

"What we all should understand is that more than 10,000 families are directly related to this film industry. A sense of fear has gripped the industry and many are worried about the future after the recent developments. Please do not join hands to destroy this industry," Mohanlal said, while making a passionate plea to "not destroy the industry".

Mohanlal also denied the presence of a 'power group' in the industry.

(with inputs from agencies)