Aishwarya Rajesh, Parvathy Thiruvothu Debate What Has Changed for Women In The Wake Of The Hema Committee Report

In a recent conversation with The Hollywood Reporter India, the cast of the upcoming Malayalam movie HER discussed the evolving dynamics in different film industries, in the wake of the Hema Committee report findings on exploitation and sexual harassment of women in the Malayalam film industry.

Actor Aishwarya Rajesh weighed in on the topic, acknowledging the challenges faced by women in these industries, but clarifying that the situation in Tamil cinema differs.

“You’re putting me in a controversial position,” Aishwarya began. “A lot of people have asked me about this in Tamil interviews. They’ve asked about the Hema Committee in the Malayalam industry and how it might be implemented in Tamil cinema. There has been a significant issue in the Malayalam industry — huge, in fact. But nothing like that has happened here (in Tamil cinema).”

Parvathy Thiruvothu, clearly surprised, asked, “You really think so?”

Aishwarya explained that she hadn’t experienced such issues herself so far, and she certainly wouldn't have remained silent if she did. “I don’t think so. How can I say something without facing such an experience? If I had encountered something like this, of course I would talk about it; I’m not going to be silent.”

Parvathy, however, emphasised that such problems are systemic, suggesting that the lack of visibility of these issues doesn't mean they aren't present.

“I agree that when things like this happen, it’s important to speak out, such as what actors did in the Malayalam film industry. If such things were to happen in Tamil cinema, we’d definitely speak about it. But I feel it hasn’t happened yet, at least not to my knowledge. No co-actor has ever come and told me, ‘Aishu, such an incident happened on the sets of my film.’ It hasn't occurred to me personally also," added Aishwarya.

Aishwarya, however, feels that there has been some progress on this front. "Things have come a long way. I’ve heard about a lot of incidents in the past —  actors being attacked, verbally abused, or worse. But with social media now and women becoming more bold, I don’t think women are scared anymore.”

"But it only applies to a small percentage of women — who fight back," said Ramya Nambeesan, who is also part of the cast. "The little change is what we see, but at the grassroots level, a lot of people are still scared to speak out. This is prevalent in every industry; you have to change the system first," she added.

Parvathy also said that she's worked in five different film industries and these issues "exist everywhere."

"And now, there are personal attacks and cyber violence at those who did speak out, and investigations and post-mortems into what we did and didn't do, and all sorts of criticism. It just doesn't end. But at least here (Malayalam industry) it is not silent anymore; the silence is much louder elsewhere," she concluded.