Prithviraj Sukumaran
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
Actor Prithviraj Sukumaran on Monday said that the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) had erred in addressing complaints of sexual harassment and misbehaviour experienced by women actors as he pointed out that those in positions of power should step aside while facing such allegations.
“The association should initiate a course correction by implementing strong redressal measures. The allegations as mentioned in the Hema Committee report must be thoroughly investigated and exemplary punishment should be meted out to those responsible. If the allegations are proved false, then exemplary punishment should be meted out to those who raised it,” he said here amidst the growing allegations of sexual assault and misbehaviour against actors in the Malayalam film industry.
“I truly hope that this is the beginning of a process that will clear all murk in front of us. It is up to the government to decide the follow-up action based on the findings of the report,” he said. On whether the names of the accused should be kept confidential, the actor said that the names of the victims should be kept confidential while there is no law of the land that stated that the identity of the accused should not be revealed.
On the finding in the Hema Committee report about the existence of a power group in the Malayalam film industry, Mr. Prithviraj said that had not experienced the presence of such a group. “But I cannot say that such a group does not exist. Any concerted attempt to deny the right to work of a person should be opposed,” he said when asked about the denial of opportunities to the members of the Women in Cinema Collective, including actor Parvathy Thiruvothu. “I am an example [who had faced such a situation] in front of you before Parvathy,” he said referring to the opportunities that he had lost earlier for speaking up on various issues.
