Thiruvananthapuram: In the backdrop of recurring media reports of sexual harassment cases in the Malayalam film industry, Cultural Affairs Minister Saji Cherian will hold discussions with the representatives of various film organisations on Wednesday on the government's plan to bring in a new legislation to curb undesirable tendencies in the industry.
The discussion will mainly revolve around the draft law prepared by the State government, which is based on the reports of the Justice Hema Committee and the Adoor Goplakrishnan Committee.
Saji Cherian said the new Bill would contain provisions to ensure proper security coverage for women working in the film field and end exploitation of female artistes.
He said stern action would be taken if any complaint was received about the exploitation of female artistes.
The minister said the new law would incorporate more stringent provisions to put an end to such undesirable tendencies.
New provisions like e-ticketing will also be introduced. The draft law was prepared after holding discussions with government representatives and office-bearers of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, Kerala State Film Development Corporation (KSFDC) , and the Cultural Welfare Board Kerala.
Today's meeting is being held to elicit the opinion of all the organisations working in the film field.
After today's meeting, the chairmen of the KSFDC and the Chalachitra Academy chairmen will take follow-up action after reaching an agreement with the film organisations on the nature of the final draft of the law.
'Nobody named as accused in Hema panel report'
The Cultural Affairs Minister said no prominent film personality was named in the Justice Hema panel's report as accused.
He said the government did not make the report public because of any such issues. The report has been kept confidential not to protect anyone involved in crimes, he clarified.
“None were listed as accused in the report. But the problem is that the report contained an uncensored version of the statement of the victims. The public disclosure of such details may lead to a situation where innocent people working in the film industry would come under the shadow of doubt. In order to avoid such unsavoury situations, the government has not yet made the report public,” the minister added.
