Aparna, Rituparna and Swastika among 100 artistes seek safer workplaces
KOLKATA: Amid the outrage over the rape-murder of the doctor at the city’s RG Kar Hospital and the Justice Hema Committee Report’s explosive revelations, which led to the resignation of AMMA president Mohanlal and its executive committee members amid a slew of sexual allegations against various members in the Malayalam industry, now more than 100 women artistes associated with the Bengali film and TV industry have written to the state-run Tele Academy, Eastern India Motion Picture Association (EIMPA) and West Bengal Motion Picture Artistes Forum on Tuesday, seeking a safer workplace.
Among the signatories of the letter include director Aparna Sen, actors Roopa Ganguly, Rituparna Sengupta, Swastika Mukherjee, Paoli Dam, Sohini Sarkar, Sohini Sengupta, Bidipta Chakraborty, Sudipta Chakraborty, Daminee Benny Basu , Priyanka Sarkar, Ritabhari Chakraborty and others.
“As women working in the Bengali film, web platform and television industry, we face various kinds of sexual abuse every day; as well as regularly hear of the rampant abuse faced by women, children and those of marginal identities. Yet, neither there is a functional support system in place to enable us to demand the Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal of Sexual Harassment under the existing laws of India, nor any open conversation about the recurrent incidents of sexual abuse of women, children and other extremely vulnerable people working in this industry. It is at once an open secret, and a hushed up reality,” the letter stated. The letter, issued by the Women’s Forum for Screen Workers, enquired if there’s any statutory structure for workers in the industry, in accordance with the PoSH Act [Sexual harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013]. The artistes also stated in the letter that they demand “intimacy coordinators” and “intimacy directors” to handle intimate scenes on screen. “This has become non-negotiable in the wake of the publication of the Hema Committee Report 2024 about the pervasive culture of sexual abuse in the Malayalam film industry. The Hema Committee’s findings indicate the extent and the depth of sexual abuse in the entertainment industry in India. As workers of the Bengali Film, Web platform, and Television Industry, we must say that ours is no exception,” the letter mentioned.
The letter called for a 24X7 helpline for victims and survivors of sexual harassment in the industry as an effective tool of whistle-blowing.
“As workers in the state of West Bengal, let us take the lead in ensuring that the legal provisions towards zero tolerance of gender-based violence in workplaces of Film, Web platform and Television industry of the country are implemented,” they said.
