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Malayalam actress Minu Muneer accuses prominent stars of sexual harassment
The actress named several actors and production crew members for physical and verbal abuse while working for a film in 2013.
Malayalam actress Minu Muneer accused her former co-stars and other production crew members of physical and verbal abuse. She has named prominent stars like M Mukesh and Jayasurya for what she termed “unbearable abuse”.
In a Facebook post, the actress said the incident occurred in 2013 while working on a movie. “In 2013, I was subjected to physical and verbal abuse by these individuals while working on a project. I tried to cooperate and continue working, but the abuse became unbearable”, her post read.
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Apart from Mukesh and Jayasurya, the actress accused Maniyanpilla Raju, Idavela Babu, advocate Chandrasekaran, production controller Noble and Vichu of abusing her after which she was forced to quit the Malayalam film industry and settle in Chennai.
Muneer said she had spoken against the abuse in an article published in Kerala Kaumudi titled "Minu Left Malayalam Industry for Unable to Cooperate with Adjustment."
"I am now seeking justice and accountability for the trauma and suffering I endured. I request your assistance in taking action against for their heinous actions", Muneer wrote on Facebook.
Hema committee report rocks Mollywood
Muneer's revelations of sexual abuse came after findings of widespread sexual abuse in the Malayalam film industry by the Justice Hema committee's report.
Two prominent personalities in the industry quit on Saturday after similar allegations were leveled against them. Actor Siddique quit as the general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) following allegations of sexual assault by a young female actor, while Kerala State Chalachitra Academy Chairperson Ranjith submitted his resignation after Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra accused him of inappropriate behaviour during a project discussion.
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After Muneer's allegations, BJP Yuva Morcha and Congress marched towards Mukesh's residence in Kollam. He is also an MLA in the ruling CPI(M) and has not responded to the allegations, NDTV reported.
Actor Maniyanpilla Raju, also named by the actress, claimed multiple vested interests are against the allegations and called for an investigation into it.
Under mounting pressure to act on the Hema committee report's findings, the LDF government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by a team of women IPS officers to probe widespread accusations of sexual abuse that have surfaced in mainstream and social media. The government had to back down from its earlier position that the lack of a specific complaint was holding back prosecution.
