The Hema Committee Report will make the Malayalam film industry safer: actor Revathi

The actor speaks about the WCC, the revelations made in the report, its fallouts, and potential solutions to ensure safety of women in cinema.

In the context of the Hema Committee report that rocked Malayalam cinema and beyond, actor and director Revathi talks about the changing film industry in this interview with Frontline. She discusses the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), a group she helped start in 2017 after a serious incident in the Malayalam film industry. The WCC aims to fix long-standing problems in the industry. Revathi has worked in movies for several decades, and now she uses her experience to push for better treatment of women in the film world. In this conversation, she explains how the WCC grew from a small group chat into an organisation that fights for change.

She also talks about the Hema Committee report, a government study about women’s working conditions in Malayalam films. Revathi shares what she thinks about its findings and why it took so long to come out. Her insights show how hard it can be to change an industry with old habits. Revathi points out problems like sexual harassment, unequal pay, and poor working conditions on film sets. She explains how new actors often have less power and face more risks. Some people support the WCC’s work, while others oppose it, and Revathi talks about dealing with both reactions. She suggests ways to make things better, including new laws and changes in how the industry works. She shares how speaking up has affected her own career and why she thinks it’s important to keep fighting for change, even when the fight becomes difficult.