Veteran actor Ranjini has voiced strong criticism of the Malayalam film industry’s gender politics, following the registration of a police case against actor Shwetha Menon. In a Facebook post, she linked the development to findings from the Justice Hema Committee report, which had flagged the existence of an entrenched “power group” within the industry.

Shwetha has been booked under Section 67A of the IT Act and Sections 3 and 5 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act for allegedly profiting from sexually explicit scenes in her films and advertisements. The FIR, filed on the directions of the Ernakulam Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, follows a complaint by social activist Martin Menachery.

Ranjini questioned the timing of the case, which comes just ahead of Shwetha’s bid for AMMA’s presidency. “Neither AMMA nor the producers' council is ready for females to take the rein from men,” she wrote. She also extended support to producer Sandra Thomas, whose nomination for the KFPA elections was recently rejected. “What is happening in our beloved industry?” Ranjini asked, calling the treatment of Sandra “shameful” and “deeply telling.”

Expressing full faith in the judiciary, Ranjini urged the swift implementation of the Hema Committee’s key recommendation to establish a dedicated entertainment tribunal. “Since we have a woman President in the country, women are equally entitled to compete in their workplaces too,” she concluded.

The AMMA election is scheduled for August 15. If elected, Shwetha would become its first female president.