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The revelations made in the recently released Hema Committee report may serve as an ‘eye-opener’, but have not truly ‘shocked’ anyone familiar with the film industry’s history. The issue of assault against women is not new. What has changed over the years, though, is that women are now finding the courage to publicly name abusers and file police complaints against them. Unlike the ‘MeToo’ movement, this shift towards legal action offers a glimmer of hope that these crimes might decrease, if not be eradicated entirely. Around 17 cases have been filed after the release of the Hema Committee report against several big names in the industry including actor Jayasurya and actor-turned-politician Mukesh. These cases are being investigated by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Kerala Government. But this is not the first time a case was filed in such incidents.
In 2018, when the MeToo movement was at its peak after gaining prominence in Hollywood, former Miss India Universe and actress Tanushree Dutta filed an FIR against veteran actor Nana Patekar. In the FIR, she alleged that he had sexually harassed her on the set of the 2009 film Horn ‘Ok’ Pleassss. Additionally, she accused choreographer Ganesh Acharya of forcing her to perform an intimate dance sequence.
Tanushree Dutta claimed her complaint didn’t get fair treatment. “In 2008, things were quite shady, even before we arrived at the police station, it seemed like a decision had already been made to dismiss the case. Despite narrating the entire incident, they reclassified it as a case of car attack. In 2018, we went again to file a proper FIR. This time, the police were accommodating – they greeted me warmly, offered me refreshments, gave me a bouquet of flowers, and took photos with me. However, it took them four hours to file the FIR. They assured me of a thorough investigation. Even I was hopeful as it was a different year, and this time I also had the support from the Bollywood community. I followed up for months, but each time, I was only told ‘We are investigating it’,” Tanushree Dutta said in a conversation with indianexpress.com.
“Seven months later, after I had flown to the USA, the police filed a B Summary. B Summary means the complaint is false and malicious,” she added. Legally, a ‘B summary’ means that the case lacks substantive basis, suggesting that no actionable evidence was found. In such situations, the cases are mostly closed.
She further said, “We provided them the names of 14 witnesses for the case. However, the police recorded the statement of only one of them and never approached the 13 others. One key witness, my hairdresser, received threatening calls from PCOs. This went on for seven months. ‘Don’t go to police station, you stay alone’, they told her on calls. They randomly picked 10 other witnesses, who were not even present at the time of the incident. After all this, they tried to file a B Summary, and we went and filed a protest petition on the B Summary. We won’t let the case close. I have a hearing on it this month. It took five years for them to give a date to hear the protest petition. This is the reason why I told back in 2018, I don’t have any hope in filing FIRs, because I am aware of how these things turn out to be. I had gone through the same things in 2008.”
The FIR filed against Nana Patekar was under Sections 354 and 509 of the Indian Penal Code. Section 354 addresses assault or the use of criminal force against a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty, and it carries a punishment of imprisonment for a minimum of one year and a maximum of five years, along with a fine. Section 509 pertains to acts, words, or gestures intended to insult a woman’s modesty, and it is a cognisable offense that includes verbal abuse. The penalty for this offense is imprisonment for up to three years and a fine. Nana Patekar was never summoned by the police.
Having lost faith in the industry and legal system, Tanushree now plans to take up a non-acting job in a different country.
Maala Parvathi
In 2019, veteran Malayalam actress Maala Parvathi, 65, filed a complaint against a film producer she had worked with. She claimed she was later pressured to withdraw it and “shake hands” with him. She told indianexpress.com, “I was playing mother to four girls in one of the films – out of which one was the main lead and the other three were new. The girls were asked to sit in a caravan. The girls called me and said, ‘We are not feeling safe, there is a group of men in the other cabin, and they are drinking and laughing and the caravan is moving away.’ Because it was drizzling, I could see the trailer, I followed it and found that it was parked around 800 metres away.”
Parvathi added, “I complained to many including Mammootty. He found out the details and supported me. After his intervention, the shoot went smoothly. I didn’t face any problems. But after the shoot was over, people associated with the film began to write random things about me on social media.”
“I went to the police station and registered a case against the producer. In retaliation, he too filed a case against me claiming I attacked his wife. The producer was shouting at me, he threatened to ban me from films. He claimed nobody would give me work. During all this, the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) supported me thoroughly. Later, we were summoned by the Producers’ Association to discuss the case. During the discussion, the producer, director, and AMMA General Secretary Edavela Babu… accompanied me. After the discussion, the members of the Producers’ Association asked us to compromise and withdraw the case, saying this could be managed internally. They asked the producer to ‘shake hands’ with me. This day was traumatic for me. I started to cry.”
Malayalam actor Dileep case
Malayalam actor Dileep is one of the main accused in the 2017 abduction and sexual assault case involving a fellow actress. In February 2017, the actress was kidnapped and assaulted by a group of men in a moving vehicle near Kochi. The attackers recorded the assault and later dropped her off at the home of actor-director Lal. Recognising the primary perpetrator, Pulsar Suni – a man with a criminal history who had worked as a driver for various actors – the actress filed a police complaint.
Pulsar Suni was charged with abduction and assault, while Dileep was accused of masterminding the conspiracy. Investigations revealed that the motive behind the crime was revenge; the survivor was a friend of Dileep’s ex-wife, Manju Warrier, and had informed her about Dileep’s alleged affair with co-star Kavya Madhavan.
Dileep was arrested and spent 85 days in jail before being granted bail. The trial faced delays for about three years due to allegations of partiality in the trial court. During this time, several witnesses, including Bhamaa, Sidhique, Edavela Babu, and Bindu Panicker, turned hostile. The survivor sought the recusal of Judge Honey M Varghese, claiming bias against the prosecution. Consequently, two Special Public Prosecutors, A Suresan and V N Anilkumar, resigned from the case between 2020 and 2021. In 2022, the Kerala Government established a new investigation team led by crime branch chief Sreejith, which subsequently filed a new FIR against Dileep for allegedly conspiring to harm police officials involved in the investigation, based on audio clips provided by filmmaker Balachandrakumar.
After nearly six years of legal battles, the survivor shared her ordeal on Instagram, stating, “Though I am not the one who has committed the crime, there have been many attempts to humiliate, silence, and isolate me.”
As of September 2024, the Kerala Government has accused Dileep of trying to undermine the case through extensive cross-examinations of prosecution witnesses. Despite the ongoing legal challenges, Dileep has continued to work, appearing in approximately 12 films since 2017, most of which have been commercially successful, including Kammara Sambhavam, which received a National Film Award.
Status of FIRs following Hema Committee Report
Jayasurya
On September 23, the Kerala High Court dismissed anticipatory bail petitions filed by actor Jayasurya in two cases alleging the outraging of women’s modesty and sexual harassment. The prosecutor noted that the alleged offenses were bailable since they occurred before 2013. As a result, the court closed the petitions, allowing Jayasurya to seek further legal remedies as needed.
Mukesh
The actor-turned-politician Mukesh was arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) for allegedly sexually assaulting a female actor about 10 years ago in Kochi. He was released on bail shortly after his arrest, having already secured bail from a Kochi court.
Additionally, FIRs have been filed against other individuals, including Sidhique, who is currently evading arrest, actor-director V K Prakash, actor-producer Maniyanpilla Raju, and V S Chandrasekharan, as well as Edavela Babu, in separate cases. It remains to be seen whether the SIT will speed up its investigations or if these cases, too, will get lost due to delayed proceedings.
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