Kerala Police files first FIR against filmmaker Ranjith as sexual assault allegations rock Mollywood

The Kerala Police on Monday filed an FIR against filmmaker Ranjith, the first one amid several recent sexual harassment allegations made against male actors in Mollywood.

The case was registered after Bengali actress Sreelekha Mitra filed a complaint against the filmmaker with the Kochi city police commissioner.

The complaint, sent via an email to the police, alleged that Ranjith had touched the actress inappropriately with sexual intent after inviting her to act in the movie ‘Paleri Manikyam’ in 2009.

According to Kochi Police commissioner S Syamsundar, a case under IPC Section 354 (assault or criminal force on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) has been registered, reported PTI.

Allegations against Ranjith

On Saturday, Sreelekha Mitra accused Ranjith of “making advances” and misbehaving with her while discussing a script years ago.

“The person concerned (Ranjith) is a big name in the Malayalam film industry and a national award-winning director. I went to his residence to discuss an upcoming film project, and I did not like his behaviour. He made certain advances subtly, and I felt uncomfortable while we were discussing the script,” PTI quoted her as saying.

The actor said following the misbehaviour, she refused to be a part of the project and returned to Kolkata.

“I don’t know if he has treated other female actors in the film industry in the same way. It is up to them to open up or not if they have faced a similar situation. Maybe his power and influence played a role for others to not speak out,” she added.

Ranjith, however, rejected the actor’s allegations, saying that he was the “real victim” in the case.

Following the allegations, Ranjit resigned as the chairman of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy. In an audio clip, Ranjith said he did not want to continue as the chairman as it would “adversely impact the reputation of the Left government”, reported PTI.

Sexual assault allegations in Mollywood

The fallout from the Justice K Hema Committee report on harassment and abuse in the Malayalam film industry has intensified, with several female actors stepping forward with disturbing accounts of the mistreatment they faced at the hands of their male counterparts.

Actor Revathy Sampath accused veteran Malayalam actor Siddique of mentally and physically assaulting her. In a media interaction, Revathy alleged that the incident took place when she was 21 years old. According to her, Siddique initially contacted her on Facebook, addressing her as “Mole” – a term often used in Kerala to refer to a young girl or daughter.

“After completing my Plus Two, I had a terrible experience. Siddique sent me messages on Facebook. I had come to discuss a film. There was abuse from Siddique’s side. During the discussion, he sexually abused me. The face he shows now is not the one I saw back then…He assaulted me, both physically and mentally. Siddique is a criminal. I went through severe mental trauma. It even affected my professional life. Siddique acted as if nothing had happened and stood before me like it was normal. Everyone responded as if it was a common occurrence. It felt like they all did it knowingly, she said.

Following the allegations, Siddique resigned from the post of general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), a prominent actors’ body in Kerala.

He also lodged a complaint with Kerala police against Revathy against the allegations levelled by her.

Another actress, Minu Muneer, levelled sexual abuse allegations against prominent actors M Mukesh, Jayasurya and Maniyanpilla Raju, and small-time actor Idavela Babu.

In a Facebook post, Muneer said, “I am writing to report a series of incidents of physical and verbal abuse I suffered at the hands of 1 Mukesh 2 Maniyan Pilla Raju, 3 Idavela Babu, 4 Jayasoorya (Jayasurya), 5 adv Chandrasekaran, 6 production controller Noble and Vichu, in the Malayalam film industry…In 2013, I was subjected to physical and verbal abuse by these individuals while working on a project. I tried to cooperate and continue working, but the abuse became unbearable.”

Meanwhile, another junior artist has also accused actor Baburaj, known for villain roles, of sexual assault. However, Baburaj rejected the allegations, claiming that it was an “attempt by vested interests in the film industry to prevent him from becoming AMA general secretary – replacing Siddique”.

Opposition slams Kerala govt, 7-member SIT formed

The opposition parties have slammed the Kerala government over the loads of sexual assault allegations against actors in the film industry and accused it of “protecting the predators”. Several opposition leaders also came forward to protest, demanding the resignations of Ranjith and Siddique.

Amid the increasing pressure on the Kerala government, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday formed a seven-member special investigation team to probe the sexual assault allegations against actors.