Kochi: Even while welcoming the disciplinary action against Malayalam actor Sreenath Bhasi for verbally abusing a woman anchor, the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) has sought to know whether it was sufficient to take action only against him.

In a social media post, the WCC welcomed the Kerala Film Producers’ Association's move to impose a temporary ban on the actor. But pointed out the previous instances when no action was taken against certain other individuals from the film industry, who had committed more serious crimes than Sreenath Bhasi.

"The Kerala Film Producers Association has taken disciplinary action against Sreenath Bhasi for insulting a woman journalist.This action definitely helps in perceiving the significance of respect we should show towards our colleagues. Parallelly, we also have to evaluate why such prompt disciplinary action is only accorded to this incident alone. There are numerous police and court cases involving men from the film industry and some are facing trial for sexual crimes. The recent cases of Vijay Babu and Liju Krishna are some of the examples,” they pointed out.

 WCC members added that Liju Krishna, the director of Nivin Pauly starrer ‘Padavettu’ who was arrested, is out on bail currently. "Meanwhile, there have been allegations against the executive producer of the film. The film’s producers are celebrating the upcoming release of this film, directed by the accused," 

 They also said that Vijay Babu who is out on bail after being arrested for a sexual assault case is celebrated by industry members and allowed to function as if he has done no wrong. "Why are the Kerala Film Producers Association not taking any action against these individuals and their companies? Is it that money and power will always dictate who should be and not be disciplined in this industry?,” they asked.

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