After Malayalam, now the report has created a stir in Telugu film industry as well, Telangana government called it ‘vague’

Amidst the ongoing controversy over sexual harassment in the Malayalam film industry, there is now a stir in the Telugu film industry as well. The report of the sub-committee constituted by the Telangana government in 2019 to investigate allegations of sexual harassment in the Telugu film industry is again in the headlines. This report has revealed that women, especially junior artists, are able to enter the Telugu film industry only with such tough conditions, in which the demand for sexual favors is prominent.

This report was submitted to the government in June 2022, but the then Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR) government did not make it public. This report is now being discussed again after the recent uproar in the Malayalam film industry.

Former Minister of Cinematography, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Talasani Srinivas Yadav described the report as very ‘vague’ and said that there was no concrete case in it on which action could be taken. According to Yadav, “Sab Kamatechi did a lot of work and spoke to many people, but there was nothing in the report on which action could be taken.”

However, Kondaveeti Satyavati, a top member of the sub-committee, prominent women’s rights activist and project director of Bhumika Women, said the report did mention sexual harassment in the Telugu film industry. “Sexual harassment is rampant in the Telugu film industry. We spoke to 24 workers in the film industry, from junior artists to support staff, and our report includes what we found,” she said.

The sub-committee’s investigation was interrupted by the COVID-19 lockdown, but continued into 2022. According to Satyavati, the Telugu film industry is an unorganised sector where complaints are not taken seriously, especially in cases of sexual harassment. “Junior female artistes are the most exploited,” she said.

The report also said that women working in the Telugu film industry face issues such as inequality in their wages, lack of written employment contracts, and poor work environment. Many women also complained that there were no separate rest areas or toilets for them.

The report made recommendations to the government to formulate policies based on these findings to make workplaces safer for women. However, the KCR government did not make the report public and shelved it. Many women from the Telugu film industry have raised their voices on this issue. At a promotional event for her film “Nishabdham” in September 2020, Anushka Shetty said that casting couch is a reality in the Telugu film industry and that she protected herself from this exploitation.

Now, many people from the Telugu film industry and women’s rights activists are demanding the Telangana government to make this report public immediately so that action can be taken on sexual harassment cases.