NEW DELHI: Terrified for her safety, Indian actress Sreelekha Mitra remembers pushing chairs and a sofa against her hotel door after she said an award-winning veteran director sexually harassed her.
Mitra waited 15 years to speak out about the incident, one of several cases exposing the dark underbelly of India’s Malayalam-language “Mollywood” film industry that has won awards at Cannes.
Her revelation was spurred by an explosive government report documenting widespread sexual harassment in an industry dominated by powerful and wealthy men who believe that an actress willing to kiss on screen would do the same in real life.
“That entire night I stayed awake,” Mitra, 51, told AFP.
Mitra was invited to a gathering at the director’s house, where she said he lured her into his room for a phone call with a cinematographer.
“He started playing with my hair and neck... I knew if I did not say anything then, his hand would roam around other parts of my body,” she said, describing events from 2009, when she was 36.
She left and returned to her hotel.
“The intentions behind his moves were pretty clear to me... I was petrified.”
Her case and close to a dozen others have triggered a MeToo reckoning in the industry, with at least 10 prominent figures accused, according to Indian media.
Kerala-based Mollywood is known for critically acclaimed movies with strong and progressive themes, a change from the big dance and song numbers of India’s giant Hindi-language Bollywood in Mumbai.
The industry is prolific, producing up to 200 films a year, loved not only by southern India’s 37 million Malayalam speakers, but also dubbed and streamed across the rest of India and abroad.
Internationally, its films have won awards, including the 1999 satire Marana Simhasanam (“Throne of Death“), winner of the Camera d’Or at Cannes.
This year’s “Manjummel Boys,” a survival thriller, took $29 million at the box office, the highest-grossing Malayalam movie ever and the fifth-most successful in India this year.
The industry report, released August 19, said women actors faced the widespread “worst evil” of sexual harassment.
The report was released by the Hema Committee, headed by a former high court judge, set up after a leading Malayalam actress reported she was sexually assaulted in 2017.
Gopalakrishnan Padmanabhan, a prominent Malayalam actor better known by his stage name Dileep, was arrested for allegedly orchestrating the assault.
He was imprisoned for three months before being released on bail. The case continues.
But the release of the report has opened discussion on the far wider issue of chronic violence against women, encouraging people like Mitra to speak out in public for the first time.
It said that women who considered speaking out about sexual assault were silenced by threats to their life, and to their families.
Award-winning actress Parvathy Thiruvothu, 36, called the investigation a “game changer” and a “historic moment.”
“There was this idea that women working in the industry should feel grateful for having been given an opportunity by the men who were hiring them,” said Thiruvothu, a member of the campaign group Women in Cinema Collective.
Allegations of abuse in Indian cinema are not new.
It witnessed a wave in 2018, shortly after the 2017 MeToo movement erupted in Hollywood against disgraced US movie producer Harvey Weinstein.
But Thiruvothu called the latest allegations more than “MeToo Part Two.”
“It’s shaking everything,” she told AFP. “It isn’t an individual-to-individual complaint anymore. It’s about a systemic structure that has continued to fail women.”
Since the report, several top actors have been accused.
The Association of Malayalam Movie Artists was dissolved following the resignation of its chief on “moral grounds” with some members among the accused.
Ranjith Balakrishnan, 59, chairman of the state’s film academy, has also quit.
Balakrishnan, who denies any wrongdoing, was the man Mitra accused of sexual harassment.
Police have filed a case against him for outraging a woman’s modesty, a non-bailable offense.
Mitra, who until the release of the report had only mentioned the incident to an industry colleague, told AFP that Balakrishnan had misused “his power.”
Thiruvothu offered a message to all women in the film industry who have survived sexual assault.
“You are a skilled artist... do not listen to anyone who tells you to find another job if it is so difficult for you,” she said.
“This is your industry, as much as it is anybody else’s. Speak up, so that we are taking the space that is rightfully ours.”
India’s ‘Mollywood’ cinema rocked by MeToo abuse claims
https://arab.news/zg8eu
India’s ‘Mollywood’ cinema rocked by MeToo abuse claims
- Explosive government report has documented widespread sexual harassment in an industry dominated by powerful and wealthy men
- Case of Sreelekha Mitra and close to a dozen others have triggered a MeToo reckoning in the industry, with 10 prominent figures accused
Rami Malek: ‘I consider myself fortunate to have shared the screen with these actors’
- The first actor of Arab descent to win an Oscar discusses his latest movie ‘The Amateur’
DUBAI: Oscar-winner Rami Malek is expanding his role behind the camera with “The Amateur,” now showing in cinemas across the Middle East. Teaming up with British director James Hawes and an ensemble cast, Malek – as lead star and producer – crafts a modern spy thriller that blends classic genre tension with timely urgency, and a cerebral update.
“I just love to see things from beginning to end all the way through — every element,” Malek tells Arab News. “I hope it’s not a perfectionist aspect, but I’ve always found myself remembering moments on certain cameras, certain lenses on other actors that I would talk to the directors about, or in post-production and wanting to make sure we get the best of the best. I heard about a lot of actors who come into the editing suite, and I thought, ‘How could I do that without having to do it in this kind of sneaky manner?’
“And so (this was) the way to do that. And it was nice to see this develop, to work on the script with Dan Wilson and, of course, the great (producer) Hutch Parker, and James Hawes, and sit down day in and day out and try to make this feel as authentic and unique as possible from beginning to end.”
Malek stars as Charlie Heller, a brilliant but introverted CIA codebreaker whose life is upended when his wife (Rachel Brosnahan) is killed in a terrorist attack in London. When the agency refuses to act, Heller sets off on a dangerous, global pursuit of those responsible — using his intelligence skills to outwit enemies and seek justice on his own terms.
Apart from Malek and Brosnahan, the film also stars Laurence Fishburne, Caitriona Balfe, Jon Bernthal, and Emmy winner Julianne Nicholson, among others.
“I got to galvanize some of my favorite actors — people I’ve always wanted to work with — in this ensemble,” Malek says. “I think everyone recognizes them as people working at the top of their game. Every actor in this film is someone I consider myself fortunate to have shared the screen with. And yeah, I’m very proud of that. It’s quite the feat.”
Balfe — the Irish actress and model known for her role as Claire Fraser in the historical drama “Outlander” — plays Inquiline Davies, Heller’s asset, a hacker with whom he communicates via secure messages online.
“Rami is amazing. I have known him socially for many years, but I always wanted to be able to work with him. And so when this project came along, I was so excited to be able to get that opportunity,” said Balfe.
“And he was an incredible producer as well. We had long, long days shooting, and he’s in practically every scene of the movie. And yet he would go home and watch the rushes from the day before, and he’d have his notes when he came in the next day about what was great, or maybe things that were missed, or script changes. It was a lot on his shoulders, but he was brilliant and very generous with his time. And very welcoming and kind to everybody too, which is so important.”
Balfe also revealed that, despite the time constraints of shooting a movie across multiple countries, “everybody was having so much fun” on set.
“Even though it was a very intense shoot and people were under real time pressure, it was such a lovely group of people to work with,” she says. “That was the best thing.”
British director Hawes is no stranger to the world of espionage drama, having worked on the acclaimed UK spy series “Slow Horses.”
“I’d been able to play in that world,” Hawes says. “Those are the kinds of films I’m drawn to — moody, atmospheric, but rooted in realism.”
While “The Amateur” nods to classic spy thrillers, Hawes aimed to update the genre for today’s world. One major change was relocating key scenes from Prague — “a city more known for beer bikes than Cold War intrigue” — to Istanbul, which he felt offered an urgent, unpredictable energy.
“We wanted it to feel contemporary — not just in the politics, but in the tech, the pacing, the stakes,” he says. “Hopefully, it still carries the soul of those older stories, but in a way that speaks to now.”
Morad Mostafa’s Red Sea-backed debut feature ‘Aisha Can’t Fly Away’ heads to Cannes
DUBAI: The Cannes Film Festival has revealed its official selection for 2025, with “Aisha Can’t Fly Away” by Egyptian filmmaker Morad Mostafa featured in the prestigious Un Certain Regard section.
Developed with the support of the Red Sea Film Foundation through its Red Sea Labs program, the film tells the story of Aisha, a 26-year-old Somali woman living in Ain-Shams — a Cairo neighborhood home to a large African migrant community.
As the authorities turn a blind eye to escalating violence and rising tensions between locals and migrants, control of the area falls into the hands of various gangs. When one gang offers Aisha protection in exchange for a personal favor, her life begins to unravel.
Mostafa shared the news on Instagram, saying: “Extremely proud to announce that my first feature film ‘Aisha Can’t Fly Away’ in the Official Selection of the 78th Festival de Cannes in the prestigious section Un Certain Regard.”
He added that this marks the “first Egyptian film in nine years to be selected for Un Certain Regard.”
The movie stars Buliana Simon, Ziad Zaza and Emad Ghoniem.
Want to share screen with Mahira Khan, upcoming Pakistani actor Khaqan Shahnawaz says
- Shahnawaz, law graduate in his thirties, has starred in dramas like “Accident,” “Barhwaan Khiladi,” “College Gate”
- Shahnawaz, who rose to fame as a content creator, says being a social media star had made his entry into acting world easier
ISLAMABAD: Upcoming actor and Internet personality Khaqan Shahnawaz has said he is a fan of Mahira Khan, one of the most popular and highest-paid actresses in Pakistan, and looked forward to sharing the screen with her in the future.
Shahnawaz, a law graduate who is in his late twenties, gained fame with dramas like “Accident,” “Barhwaan Khiladi,” “Yunhi” and “College Gate.” He most recently played the role of a Pashtun boy in the drama series, “My Dear Cinderella,” which started airing on Hum TV during Ramadan and concluded with its final episode over the Eid holiday.
“Who wouldn’t want to? I still want to share the screen with Mahira Khan and be in her presence,” he told Independent Urdu in an interview last week. “Mahira Khan is a star and I have always been a fan of hers, still am.”
Shahnawaz recalled catching a glimpse of Khan from a distance at a wedding but unfortunately wasn’t able to meet her.
“I couldn’t meet her because she came for a very short time,” he said. “But I saw her from a distance and I said, ‘That’s a star,’ because she had an aura when she was walking.”
When asked about future projects and if would like to work in an action project, Shahnawaz said action was not a preferred genre on Pakistani TV, long known for romantic comedies and family dramas.
“I think we don’t make that many dramas that fall under the action genre but definitely, if I had the option to choose between an action drama or a romantic comedy, it would have been a tough decision,” the actor said.
“But right now I had the option of a family tragedy or a romantic comedy and I went for the romantic comedy [My Dear Cinderella] because the character was very different from my real life character so I thought I should experiment and I should check if I can step into this character.”
Shahnawaz, who rose to fame as a social media star, said he still identified largely as a content creator.
“If you look at my Instagram profile or TikTok profile, I have uploaded content recently and I keep posting regularly,” he said. “My entry into acting was a lot easier because of content creation, I will say this.”
Katy Perry joins Yasalam After-Race Concert lineup at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
DUBAI: US pop icon Katy Perry will bring her chart-topping energy to the UAE for the Yasalam After-Race Concerts, part of the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend in December.
The music star will headline the grand finale on Dec 7 at Etihad Park, with more names still to be announced. The 2024 lineup featured Teddy Swims, Peggy Gou, Maroon 5, Eminem and Muse.
This will not be Perry’s first performance in the UAE. She appeared at Abu Dhabi’s Du Arena for a New Year’s Eve concert in 2017, a private event during the Dubai Airshow in 2015, and the closing ceremony of the World Parachuting Championships in 2012.
Perry achieved global fame with her 2008 breakout hit “I Kissed a Girl,” kicking off a string of chart-toppers including “Firework,” “Teenage Dream,” “Roar” and “Dark Horse.”
Known for vibrant visuals, catchy pop anthems and theatrical performances, she has earned accolades including five Billboard Music Awards, five American Music Awards and a Guinness World Record.
Her 2010 album “Teenage Dream” made history as the first by a female artist to produce five No.1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100.
Perry is also a devoted mother after giving birth to Daisy Love Bloom in August 2020, the daughter she shares with her fiance, British actor Orlando Bloom.
The couple, who got engaged on Valentine’s Day 2019, have been open about their journey as parents.
Perry has spoken openly about how motherhood has shifted her perspective, helping her stay grounded amid the whirlwind of fame. She has also given fans glimpses of Daisy’s personality.
“She is a combination of both me and her father … we are fearless with lots of chutzpah and just big characters. So the combination of us both is definitely coming out,” she told People Magazine.
“It’s amazing to see everything new again through a toddler’s eyes.”
In an interview with Access Hollywood, she said: “She’s not shy and she loves to sing. I literally was checking my phone five minutes ago and she has a ukulele in her hands. So she loves music and she loves what mommy does and daddy does and she loves seeing us happy.”
Elyanna features in new, extended ‘Arcane’ track
DUBAI: Palestinian Chilean singer Elyanna has once again joined forces with British rock giants Coldplay to release a new version of “Ma Meilleure Ennemie,” originally performed by Belgian artist Stromae and French singer Pomme. The reimagined track is the standout addition to the extended soundtrack for Season Two of “Arcane,” the hit Netflix animated series based on the League of Legends universe.
Released over the weekend via Riot Games and Virgin Music Group, the extended soundtrack features a star-studded lineup, including Twenty One Pilots, Stray Kids, King Princess, and D4vd. But it is “Ma Meilleure Ennemie” — French for “My Best Enemy” — that has emerged as a breakout anthem, racking up more than 335 million streams on Spotify to date. It now ranks as the second most-streamed song in the history of “Arcane,” behind only JID and Imagine Dragons’ chart-topping hit Enemy from Season One.
“The incredible response our players had to ‘Ma Meilleure Ennemie’ inspired us to create a new version to celebrate the release of ‘Arcane’ Season Two’s extended original soundtrack,” said Maria Egan, global head of music at Riot Games. “Coldplay and Stromae have wanted to collaborate for a long time, and this felt like the perfect opportunity. Chris Martin’s English verse adds a whole new layer to an already iconic track.”
In a statement, Coldplay added: “We love Stromae and Pomme and the beautiful song they wrote for Ekko and Powder. It’s an honor to contribute to this new version and to the ‘Arcane’ and League of Legends universe.”
Meanwhile, Elyanna has been normalizing Arabic lyrics in the Western world throughout her career, taking inspiration from artists including Lana Del Ray and Beyonce, as well as Middle Eastern legend Fayrouz.
The Los Angeles-based singer’s music is a mix of Arabic and Western beats, which she attributes to her multicultural upbringing.
Last month, Elyanna performed live with British band Coldplay during their four-show run in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
The music sensation has previously hinted at upcoming projects this year, stating: “The sunrise and the rebirth of the ‘Woledto’ project is just (the) start for the next chapter of 2025. Arabic is the music of the soul and the sun. Grateful for all the talented people that believed in this project and helped with the vision to come to life this tour (sic).”
