Anjali Menon and WCC instigating false complaints ; Kerala 's FEFKA

Now it seems that Anjali Menon and WCC are the troublemakers behind all the issues that were raised against FEFKA the Malayalam filmdom trade body,. Women workers were being forced to level allegations at instance of WCC. To drive the point , the hairdresser lady who worked in Anjali Menon’s film Koode backs this charge by Sibi Malayil who heads FEFKA. But after going through Sibi Malayil’s charge, a little bit of probing , I find that Anjali had been taking up the case of three women makeup members sitting on a dharna in front of the union office. . Read Anjali’s post ; Why does one have to struggle so much to work in this industry? to get memberships in the unions/ organisations? to hold onto safety and workplace rights? to speak up when there is a grievance? to get issues addressed without being intimidated or silenced? Since yesterday these women are sitting on a hunger strike outside the Make Up Union’s office. Where are the organisations and departments that are supposed to work for their welfare and rights? Where is the change? Where is the intent? Now read this ; In a press conference, make-up artist Mitta Antony criticised WCC founder member and director Anjali Menon. n my first movie ‘Koode’, it was Anjali Menon who asked my associate to leave the set. But at last, all blame fell upon me. It was her doings but I got crucified. everything was a game plan of WCC Now Sibi to drive home the point that WCC members are out to create trouble for no reason talks about an incident :”Last night, a leading actress and another member of WCC came to our office at night for a discussion over the issue. As it was late at night, we suggested that the meeting be continued the next morning. However, the WCC members were not ready to leave the office. They are forcing the complainants to talk more about us and aggravate the whole issue”

Why the protest : The protesting artistes alleged that those who deposed before the Hema Committee and resisted harassment are being persecuted with disciplinary actions such as suspension. In contrast, no action has been taken so far against a AKCMH member accused in a case registered under the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. “The strike was settled after a discussion with FEFKA officials and the agitators under the leadership of the regional labour officer. Many of the demands raised by the protesters were accepted. We will hold meetings with makeup artists and hair stylists to solve any issues and complaints,” added Sibi.

Did GOAT box office one week cover Thalapathy's Rs 200 crore - Activist actress says all Fine

After one week of theatre run globally , it looks like GOAT has just about managed to cover the Rs 200 crore paid to Thalapathy. AGS Archana herself confirmed this amount paid to Vijay and said that they were covered by the pre- release business. If we look at post release business and which means the money coming for people who bought the screening rights, GOAT India wide Net is Rs 171 crore. Out of this Tamil Nadu share was Rs 150 crore and Rs 21 crore from other languages. Now one may that collections will increase but reality is that Day one across Tamil Nadu, it was Rs 39 crores and Day 7 , the figure is Rs 7.2 crores. Overseas figures are at Rs 130 crores. So it reaches the Rs 300 crore mark in 7 days ! A record indeed. Those rooting for Jailer should understand that in overseas GOAT is going strong and only a week has passed. Usually considered strong markets, Kerala and two Telugu States has underperformed and that too very badly. AGS with digital, satellite and OTT rights will have a profit. At the end of the day, the entire exercise looks like it was an effort to recover Thalapathy’s wages.

A prominent actress who deposed before Hema Committee is said to have given a statement that there is no sexual harassment by male actors on the sets or outside. She claimed ignorance of any such acts where actress was denied roles as they had not cooperated with actors. The most surprise element was that this actress was in the forefront of calling for a probe after Dilip case and part of setting up WCC. The somersault had even baffled the committee members. Even while the Dilip case reference was put forth to this actress, she termed it as fall out between the actor and actress concerned and termed it as an isolated incident. On hindsight, those in the know say that the actress had backtracked before the committee as she would have been told by `power group’ to not precipitate the matter. This actress despite her tough stance on the sexual assault case , had no dearth of work in Malayalam films. B Unnikrishnan of FEFKA the film trade union body says that Hema committee should taken statements from members of the body and had relied on mostly those from WCC or those aligned with them. It seems one section of the AMMA is planning to form a parallel body and seek trade union status. On the other hand, a move is on to group members around to retain the charitable societies status of AMMA.

Rs 200 cr for Vijay - GOAT Producer confirms - Audience shunning Kerala Box office ?

Thalapathy Vijay received Rs 200 crores for GOAT and this was revealed by Producer Archana of AGS to Galatta in an interview. She said the film budget was Rs 340 crores. The previous budget of AGS film Bigil was less than Vijay’s renumeration for GOAT. Archana says already before release, they have made table profits. All Chennai theatres that opened GOAT advance booking has full booking for first three days and all shows. GGOAT is releasing in Kerala on September 5 in 700 theatres – a record for a non-Malayalam film.

The awards show conducted by Mazhavil Manorama TV in association with AMMA , the actors body is scheduled to be telecast on September 6 and 7 .. The show was held at Angamaly with 80 AMMA members taking part and highest ticket rate being Rs 40,000 for two and lowest being Rs 1000. The event took place just before the committee report was published. It will stream on Manorama Max on September 9th. AMMA will be giving part of proceeds to Wayanad Relief Fund. The event will see the presence of Mohanlal, Mammootty, Fahadh Faasil, Tovino Thomas, Asif Ali , Unni Mukundan, Mahima Nambiar, Shane Nigam, Anaswara Rajan, and Mamitha Baiju. It has to be seen whether this show will take a hit as Mukesh and Sidiqque , those in limelight for sexual harassment are part of the stage show. Veteran actress Radhika disclosure that she was witness to Malayalam male actors watching clips of actresses changing clothes in caravan as they were fitted with hidden cameras , is being investigated. She said that she avoided caravan and used hotel room. Last she was seen in Dilip’s RamLeela and Mohanlal’s Itty Mani. Lakshmi Ramakrishnan said that she was asked to come to Kochi and stay overnight by a leading Director. Revathi has told TOI that she has not received the nude photos of the male that was supposed to be send by Director Ranjith to her and hence there was no need to react to this reports.

Ranjith send nude boy photo to Revathy - Adjustment - compromise no secret - Sharadha

Director Ranjith shot nude photos of a young boy and send it across to Actress Revathy. Revathy is one of the founding members of Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) that is behind the formation of Hema Committee. Ranjith resigned from Chalachitra Akademi , the State Government body after a Bengali actress filed a complaint that she was sexually harassed by the Director. A male victim has mentioned in his complaint about Director Ranjith. The boy said that he was called to the hotel room in Taj Bengaluru and was forced to take liquor and participated in sexual activity with the Director. The director shot some nude photos while talking on the phone and send it to the person with whom he was talking. Ranjith said that he had send the photos to Revathy and she had liked it. The boy said that after he did not get chance to act in two films directed by Ranjith, he had complained to an actress who was close to Ranjith. The incident happened in 2012 when Ranjith was working in Mammootty film Baputty namathil. The man says that the Director said that the photos send to his friends will help him get offers. After 40 years of acting, Revathy in 2022 won Best Actress Award from Kerala State for her performance in Bhoothakalam. “I was told to place the award on my chair, but I didn't feel like letting her go. It took her almost 40 years to reach me” said Revathy while receiving the award from CM Pinnarayi Vijayan. Bhoothakalam was rejected by primary jury but was recalled after four members wanted it to be in final list due to Revathy’s fine performance. At that time there was an allegation that Ranjith who as Chairman of Chalachitra Academy had influenced the jury headed by Bengali film maker Gautam Ghose. Now a Bengali actress has alleged sexual harassment against Ranjith. An Fir has been filed against Ranjith on actress complaint. About the Hema Committee Revathi was quoted = Revathi stressed that there are a lot who have kept quiet for years but now feel that they can open up after reading the report. “Some men have been saying this has happened to them for years – 19 years ago, 16 years ago. It is like they have been silenced forever. The release of Hema Committee Report has kindled faith that it is alright to speak,” she said. Revathy had won twice the best actress award in Tamil from TamilNadu State and three national awards which include a best supporting actress in Thevar Maghan.

Sharadha one of the Hema Committee was quoted saying that casting couch in her days was out of mutual consent and nothing was forced. In `olden days’ , she says that nobody spoke in double meaning on the sets and nobody squeezed the breasts of actresses on sets. According to her the western culture was the culprit. Read on - Sharada also talks about how the current crop of actors is “influenced by Western culture.” "Hence, everybody mingles with each other quite openly. Girlfriends and boyfriends are very public now. The relationship between men and women was different in the olden days. The culture of the new generation is different. “Adjustment" and "compromise" are open these days, whereas it was not so open then,” she says.