How a survivor's resilience sparked a rebellion in Malayalam cinema

For years, she endured isolation, cyberbullying and covert attempts to push her out of work. Yet she continued to appear in court, respond to gruelling cross-examinations and asserted her right to dignity after being subjected to one of the vilest crimes.

In an interview, the survivor of the 2017 actor assault case said that whenever she felt on the verge of giving up, she would find herself reconsidering a day later. She explained that her determination stemmed from a need to defend her dignity and establish her innocence, insisting that she had done nothing wrong, showing a resilience that has defined one of the most turbulent decades in the history of Malayalam cinema.

For eight years, she has stood at the centre of a "nightmare" that began in a moving vehicle and spiralled into a gruelling legal battle. Yet, her refusal to be silenced did more than just keep a court case alive; it set off a domino effect that brought the industry’s long-lived patriarchy to its knees.

The night that changed Mollywood
On February 17, 2017, a leading female actor was abducted while travelling from Thrissur to Kochi. For over two hours, she was sexually assaulted in a moving car by a gang of men, an act allegedly orchestrated to settle a personal score. The prime accused, 'Pulsar' Suni, claimed he was merely a "pawn" carrying out orders.

The investigation eventually pointed toward the upper echelons of the industry, leading to the arrest of prominent actor Dileep, who spent 85 days in jail.
While the legal battle dragged on—marked by hostile witnesses and cross-examinations—the survivor’s solitary stand began to fracture the industry’s wall of silence.

Formation of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC)
In May 2017, shattering the norm of looking the other way, a group of women professionals banded together to form the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) and #Avalkoppam campaign. This "sisterhood" became the survivor’s lifeline when the "whole universe seemed stacked against her." It was a historic move—the first female-led collective in the Indian film industry demanding a safe workspace.

Institutional scrutiny: The Hema Committee
The pressure mounted by the WCC forced the Kerala government to act. In July 2017, the Justice Hema Committee was constituted to study the issues faced by women in the industry. Although the report was submitted in December 2019, its findings were kept under wraps for nearly five years.

When the report was finally released to the public in August 2024, it opened a Pandora’s box. It confirmed what the survivor had long fought against: a "power mafia" that controlled the industry through fear. The report detailed how terms like "compromise" and "adjustments" were euphemisms for sexual demands, and how an "unwritten ban" was used to ostracise women who refused to fall in line.

The #MeToo wave
The release of the Hema Committee report acted as a catalyst for a massive #MeToo movement within Malayalam cinema. Rallied by the survivor’s eight-year endurance, other women began to speak out. Following the report's release in August 2024, over 40 cases were registered against many industry figures, ranging from technicians to high-profile directors and actors.

The fall of the Titans
Perhaps the most significant impact was the collapse of the old guard. In August 2024, following the mounting allegations and public outrage, the executive committee of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA)—the apex body that had once been accused of turning a blind eye to the survivor’s grievances—was forced to dissolve.

From the depths of despair, where she once contemplated "leaving the country" or "killing herself," the survivor has emerged not just as a victim or survivor, but as the architect of a new era.

Her decision to stand firm did not merely keep a case alive — it ignited an unprecedented conversation about gender, power and accountability within Malayalam cinema.