Kochi: Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) General Secretary B Unnikrishnan criticised the Hema Committee for selectively collecting statements from people employed in the Malayalam film industry when probing the issues faced by women in the field. He claimed that even though there were around 600 active members in FEFKA and its associated unions during the committee's functioning period, the panel approached only nine for testimonies.
“The committee refused to hear what the women members of AMMA (Association of Malayalam Movie Artists), FEFKA and Kerala Film Producers' Association had to say. It also excluded the accounts of representatives of other major unions within the industry,” Unnikrishnan said. “The committee said many from the industry refused to come before it to give testimonies. Then why didn’t the panel seek FEFKA’s help to resolve the issue,” he added.
Unnikrishnan also reiterated his demand that all the names mentioned in the Hema Committee report be released. “If a 15-member power group is controlling the film industry, why didn’t it reveal their identities?” he alleged, stating that the power group concept was deliberately created by certain witnesses.
Unnikrishnan added that the Hema Committee held group meetings with the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) twice but refused to have any discussions with FEFKA’s women members. “The panel has also sent the details of what it could investigate to WCC, but it excluded the Producers Association and AMMA,” he added.
