The Kerala government on Monday, June 9, informed the Kerala High Court that there will be a film conclave in August 2025 before finalising the draft of the much delayed policy to address issues in the Malayalam film industry that were found in the Justice Hema Committee Report, as per a report in Bar and Bench.
Advocate General Gopalakrishna Kurup stated that the State government will finalise the film policy within two months of the conclave.
The special bench comprised Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice CS Sudha.
As per a report in India Today, the Kerala High Court has granted the Special Investigation Team (SIT) ten days to submit its report on the investigation based on the cases which are in the Hema Committee report regarding women's harassment in the Malayalam film industry.
Inputs from 600 organisations have been considered while drafting the proposed film policy, which will be discussed at the film conclave.
The court also paid attention to the cases registered, based on the Hema Committee report. Reportedly, 26 out of 40 cases name in the report have been dropped.
The SIT clarified that these cases were not filed based on the complaints by the victims, following the publication of the Hema committee report. They were registered after reviewing the report and examining the statements made to the committee.
Further hearing will be on June 25.
About Hema Committee
The Women in Cinema Collective, submitted a written appeal to the Kerala Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, to address the problems faced by women in the Malayalam film industry, which led to the formation of the committee in 2017, comprising retired Kerala High Court judge Justice Hema, actor Sarada, and bureaucrat KB Valsala Kumari. Headed by Justice Hema, it intended to study the status of female film professionals and their working conditions, providing recommendations and solutions to abate the problems faced by women in the film industry.
