The Hema committee report, which got published on Monday after a 5-year-long wait, seems to have opened a can of words as more female actors and technicians are coming forward with startling revelations about the unsafe environment in the Malayalam film industry. Renowned Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra has accused veteran director Ranjith of misbehaving with her during the discussions of his film Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha (2009).
According to Sreelekha, she met Ranjith in Kerala to discuss a role in the film. “He invited me to his bedroom, and while we were casually chatting, he touched my bangles, pretending to be unaware about it. I was a bit uncomfortable with it, but tried to continue the conversation. Upon seeing that I was not reacting, he started caressing my neck, which was unacceptable. I excused myself and left the room,” recalled Sreelekha about the traumatic incident. She also shared how she stayed there the whole night for fear of someone knocking on the door. Sreelekha had notified the incident to documentary filmmaker Joshy Joseph, who confirmed it to the media after the allegations were made public. Joshiy said that though he wanted to raise the issue then, Sreelekha was not as brave as she is today.
Meanwhile, Ranjith, who is also the chairman of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy, categorically denied the allegations. Stating that Sreelekha was furious at not being offered a role in the film, he termed all other accusations fabricated. “I interacted with her in the presence of my assistant Shanker Ramakrishnan and two other assistants. After Shankar narrated the story to Sreelekha, she was excited, but I had some confusion about which role she could play. Later, a decision was taken not to cast her, and Shanker was asked to inform her about it. She got furious and questioned why she was called if that was the case." Adding that he was ready to face any action legally, Ranjith also expressed his doubts about who devised such a plan to trap him.
