Mammootty breaks his silence on sexual assault allegations in Malayalam cinema: 'There's no...'

Actor Mammootty on Sunday denied the presence of any 'power group' in the film industry and called upon everyone working in the field to be vigilant so that nothing untoward happens there.

The veteran actor, in a Facebook post, praised the state government's initiative to constitute the Justice Hema Committee and requested it to implement the recommendations of the panel by enacting necessary legislation if there were any legal hurdles.

Breaking his silence on the report and the subsequent allegations that rocked the cinema world, Mammootty said that he wholeheartedly welcomes and supports the recommendations and solutions in the committee's report and urged all associations in the film industry to join hands in implementing them.

He said that the police was vigorously investigating the complaints of sexual harassment and abuse raised by several women, so let the agency carry on with its probe honestly. The actor also said that as the full report of the committee was before the court, it can decide the punishments.

Mammootty, in his post, said that his response was delayed as he was waiting for the organisation representing actors and its leadership to first respond to the committee report. He said that cinema was the "epitome" of society and the good and the bad present among the general public are there in the films too.

He also said that as society pays close attention to the film industry, anything that happens there becomes a major topic of discussion. "Therefore, those working in the film industry need to be careful and vigilant so that nothing untoward happens in this sector," the actor said, adding that "cinema must survive."

His response comes a day after his colleague in the film industry, actor Mohanlal, broke his silence over the shocking revelations in the committee's report. Mohanlal too denied the existence of a power group in the industry and had said that cinema was a part of the society and what happens everywhere else is happening in the film world also. 

He too had welcomed the panel's report and said that wrongdoers should be punished if there was evidence against them. The Justice K Hema Committee was constituted by the Kerala government after the 2017 actress assault case, and its report revealed instances of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam cinema industry.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from PTI)

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