Konkona Sen Sharma is gearing up for the release of her film, Accused. The actor plays a London-based doctor in the film who is facing allegations of workplace sexual harassment. Speaking to news agency PTI, Konkona opened up about the issues raised in the landmark Justice Hema Committee report, which exposed rampant harassment in the industry.
What Konkona said
During the interaction, Konkona said, “It’s just a very unfortunate situation. This is the reality we all know, we know the people who have been accused, we can see so many of them thriving. A lot of that is actually dependent on us, on all of us as a society, who we choose to work with, whose work we want to watch, how many opportunities do we give these people.”
Speaking about the Hema Committee report, she went on to add, “The Hema committee has brought out a report, how many people have actually read it, how widely has it been circulated? Some good things may have come out of it, in terms of infrastructure, some committees and structures have been put in place on a film set, or in any work environment. But ultimately what comes of it, a lot of it depends on us, and how we deal with it as a society.”
About the Hema Committee report
The Hema Committee report put the spotlight on the issues faced by women in the Malayalam film industry and came with shocking accounts of harassment, exploitation, and ill-treatment being faced by women.
The report stated that female actors faced harassment, including instances where the doors of their rooms were knocked on by intoxicated individuals in the film industry. In fact, many of the women expressed reluctance to complain due to fear. It also reported a lack of basic amenities such as toilets for women, adding that junior artists are treated ‘worse than slaves in Malayalam cinema’.
Meanwhile, Accused also stars Pratibha Ranta. Written by Sima Agarwal and Yash Keswani, Accused is directed by Anubhuti Kashyap. Backed by Karan Johar, Adar Poonawala and Somen Mishra, the film is a psychological thriller and is scheduled to release on Netflix on February 27.
(via inputs from PTI)