Hema Committee Report: Thilakan's Daughter Accuses Prominent Malayalam Actor Of Harassment

On Tuesday, Sonia Thilakan, daughter of the late legendary Malayalam actor Thilakan, made a startling revelation that a well-known actor in the film industry had behaved inappropriately with her following her father’s death. She shared that the actor had invited her to his private room under the pretext of apologising for his actions towards her father and later sent her inappropriate messages years ago. While speaking to reporters, Sonia hesitated to reveal the actor’s identity. She mentioned that a ‘power group’ has long been dominating the Malayalam film industry and the actor’s association, AMMA. She also said that her father had been shown the door from AMMA by the same power group because he had questioned the internal affairs.

The woman made her disclosure just a day after the Justice Hema Committee report, which unveiled the alarming harassment and sexual exploitation endured by women in the Malayalam film industry, causing an uproar in Kerala. The expert panel’s report also mentioned the mistreatment faced by her father Thilakan, who had even been subjected to a lifetime ban from AMMA. Sonia revealed that the actor initially addressed her with affection but later sent messages with inappropriate intentions. She noted that these messages served as evidence of his improper motives, adding that she had known the actor since her childhood. When questioned by reporters about the actor’s identity, she responded that she would reveal it at a more suitable time.

She said that she decided to speak out now in support of the women who provided testimonies to the Hema Committee. On one hand, while the Hema Committee report is 296 pages long, only 233 pages have been made public. The committee submitted a 233-page version of the report, excluding sections that could impact individual rights and the identities of victims, as requested under the RTI. Meanwhile, the Kerala government possesses an additional 400-page report, which includes video evidence and details stored on pen drives submitted by actresses and female artists who were sexually victimised. None of this information has been released to the public.