Why Was Hema Committee Report Buried For 4 Years? Radhikaa Sarathkumar Reveals

Tamil actress Radhikaa Sarathkumar recently revealed a shocking incident, when she was working on a project in Kerala. Now, she has reacted to the findings of the recently released Hema Committee report that shed light on the sexual harassment and exploitation faced by female artists in Malayalam cinema. She revealed how it took four years for the report to be published publicly.

Radhikaa Sarathakumar shares why it took 4 years for the government to release Hema Committee report

In an interview with ANI, Radhikaa shared that the Hema Committee was started by Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), constituting Padmapriya, Parvathy and Revathi, among others. They stood up for women's rights and working conditions in the Malayalam film industry. However, after the report was submitted, it was not published and was handed over to the government where it was lying for four years till WCC went to court. "The court had to tell them to release the findings. So once it came out, a lot of allegations came. And it has gone out of proportion in Kerala with naming the artists who are in the top bracket of the Malayalam film industry," she added.

Radhikaa further shared that in her career spanning over 4o years, she has seen a lot of things which they had to keep changing. "Times have changed and people's characters have changed. Education and lifestyle have gone up. How we address it is very important,” Radhikaa added.

What do we know about the Hema Committee report?

On August 19, a redacted version of the report on the harassment faced by the artists in the industry was made public. The report narrated the ordeal of the victims who were sexually abused and exploited by the prominent male figures of the industry. The report also has the name of the accused but that section has reportedly been removed. Since then, serious allegations have been levelled by the actors against veteran actors and directors, including Siddique, Ranjith, Mukesk M and Jayasurya.

NCW demand a full version of the Hema Committee report

A few days ago, the National Commission of Women wrote to the state government to publish the full version of the report. According to reports, BJP leaders PR Shivashankar and Sandeep Vaachaspathi filed a complaint which prompted an intervention of the National Commission For Women (NCW) regarding the disclosure of the Hema Committee Report in full. In response to the complaint, a letter has been sent to the Kerala Chief Secretary to produce a copy of the full report.