Whenever women rise, they are pulled down; Bhagyalakshmi calls out gender bias in Malayalam Cinema’s power circles

Veteran dubbing artist and actor Bhagyalakshmi has alleged a conspiracy behind the registration of a case against Shwetha Menon. According to her, attempts have been going on over the past few days to discourage the women contesting for key positions in AMMA. The detractors, including women, are trying to turn back women just as they are beginning to rise to leadership roles.

"It was some women who tried to sabotage Kukku Parameswaran, who is contesting for the post of general secretary, by raising allegations against her." Now, a case has been registered against Shwetha. In an interview with Manorama Online, Bhagyalakshmi pointed out that the registration of the case against Shwetha was unjust and asked what mistake Shwetha had committed that the male actor opposite her hadn’t.

“I have been observing everything happening within the AMMA ( The Association of Malayalam Movie Artists), the movie organisation, from the beginning. But I chose to remain silent as I thought it would be improper for me to comment on something happening in an organisation we are in no way connected to. Why is it that no women in the group feel they should rise to leadership? I think in that organisation, women are the enemies of women. It is women themselves who are now campaigning against other women coming into leadership. And that too with baseless allegations about something that happened a very long time ago. I was thinking, instead of speaking up with what should be said at the right time, they are now spinning some false stories. Why are they doing this?

When three to four women suddenly come forward with false allegations, why are the men who have led this organisation till now -- from Mohanlal and Mammootty to Baburaj down the hierarchy ,not stepping up to ask: "What nonsense is this?" This organisation is being cast in a bad light in front of the entire society. And when we see that none of them are intervening to stop this, it raises a suspicion that is this their trump card against women?

One candidate withdrew his nomination following various allegations. However, two women remain steadfast in the competition. Just as they begin to sense victory, efforts are being made to undermine them. Recently, a couple of women came forward with accusations against Kukku Parameswaran, who had also competed in the previous election. Shwetha has also run in prior elections. Interestingly, these allegations, which were never raised before, are now surfacing one after another. This situation clearly appears to be a setup, and it's evident to anyone observing.

A person has come forward to file a complaint. Tracking this person's phone will reveal the culprits. When you see him speaking on a TV channel, you might think he sounds utterly foolish. Many men have portrayed similar characters in various movies—does that not mislead society in the same way? So why is only Shwetha being targeted while the male actors she worked with face no consequences? Why didn't this individual feel compelled to lodge a complaint against those male actors?

Shwetha was not acting alone in those films. Aren’t the men who shared the screen with her equally responsible? How many women and men have acted in such films? How many filmmakers have made such movies? This is undoubtedly a part of a big conspiracy.

Even the sections invoked against her is baffling. Which country are we living in? A case has been registered without even a basic inquiry into why the complaint was filed. They weren’t even ready to listen to what the woman had to say in her defence. Isn’t this supposed to be a democratic country? Don’t we have any rights? To register a case under non-bailable offences... what crime has she committed? Is it murder?

Some people have taken scenes from the movies she acted in and uploaded them to certain websites. But the person watching those websites is not considered an offender? The complainant himself says that the content is on porn sites that are already banned. But the movies he’s referring to are available on YouTube. So why didn’t he watch them there? Why go to a banned porn site instead?

When this comes up before the court, should the court go to these porn sites and watch those videos in full? It’s obvious that the case will eventually be dismissed. But until then, a woman is being publicly humiliated. Just take a look at the kinds of comments being posted under news reports about Shwetha. What’s getting destroyed there is a woman’s self-respect. It’s a situation where a woman is forced to keep shouting that she’s innocent. A huge injustice is being done to Shwetha.

Some people made repeated attempts to keep Kukku out of the election. At one point, I even called her and said, “Kukku, just throw all this away and walk away. Why do you want to correct them?” Because it’s only when a woman takes a leadership position that other women feel safe to come forward and open up. There are many things women simply cannot disclose to men. This is a serious injustice.

People should take to the streets in protest. I am ready to join this protest. Artists should come together and fight this collectively,” said Bhagyalakshmi.