On 26th August, the Kerala Police opened their first official complaint against filmmaker Ranjith in response to multiple recent charges of sexual harassment directed towards male performers in Mollywood. The development transpired after Bengali actress Sreelekha Mitra complained to the Kochi City Police Commissioner S Syamsundar against the director. Ranjith reportedly grabbed the actress improperly and with sexual intent after asking her to appear in the 2009 film “Paleri Manikyam Oru Pathira Kolapathakathinte Katha,” according to the police complaint, which was delivered through email.
Section 354 (assault or criminal force on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code has been invoked against the filmmaker, informed S Syamsundar. Ranjith resigned from his position as chairman of the state Chalachitra Academy following the shocking charges. Sreelekha Mitra unveiled that she was asked to be a part of “Paleri Manikyam” and visited an apartment in Kadavantra to talk about it during the pre-production phase, however, Ranjith attempted to touch other parts of her body with a sexual motive after initially touching her hand. She soon realised his devious intentions, stopped him and went back to the hotel where she was staying. She also intimated the same to the film’s screenwriter Joshy Joseph the next day but didn’t even receive a ticket for the return journey as she went back to Kolkata after declining to participate in the project.
“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. 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 expressed.
She urged the authorities to take action against him for “molestation of womanhood with criminal intent in the year 2009.” She also mentioned that she wasn’t able to pursue the case further as she was not from Kerala. She stated that she was registering a complaint since Kerala’s public servants had adopted the stance that a formal complaint was required. The offence was committed at an apartment in Kadavantra, hence the complaint was filed with the district police chief in Kochi City. The special investigation team (SIT), which was established by the government to look into the claims of sexual abuse of women in the Malayalam film industry, would be consulted before taking any further action in the matter.
Ranjith denied her charges and claimed that he was the “true victim” in this instance but withdrew from his role as Kerala Chalachitra Academy chairman in the wake of the accusation. He also said that it would “adversely impact the Left government’s reputation” in an audio tape. Notably, many actresses came forward with disclosures about sexual exploitation in the film industry following the publication of the Hema Committee report on 18th August as the government led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was slammed for stalling its release.
