While speaking at a press conference on Wednesday aimed at defending himself against a conservative religious group’s threats, Kollywood superstar Kamal Hassan inadvertently put himself smack dab in the center of another controversy when he publicly and apparently illegally named the actress at the center of the horrifying Mollywood actor Dileep’s scandal. In doing so Hassan appears to have committed a crime under Indian law, which prohibits naming minors and victims of sexual assault.
In the unfolding Mollywood story, the Malayalam industry’s comedy icon know as Dileep (born Gopalakrishnan Pamanabhan Pillai) was arrested and subsequently incarcerated for 14 days in a jail near the city of Kochi in coastal Kerala state while he awaits trial. He stands accused of conspiracy in the abduction and sexual assault of the actress, with whom he had co-starred in the past. She has charged Dileep and four other co-defendants with taking her hostage and raping her in a moving car for over two hours, taking nude photos of her and then dumping her on a road.
Hassan unwisely dragged himself--and by extension the Tamil-language film industry--into the muck at his own press conference, which he organized primarily to speak about a Hindu fringe group's threat against him that arose when he began hosting the reality television program Bigg Boss (the group, Makkal Katchi, claims that the reality show is obscene and hurts Tamil culture). When asked about women's safety in the film industry in the light of the incident involving Dileep, Hassan named the actress, violating a victims’ protection statute. He seemed to think he was taking the high road when he said it is not just the safety of actresses but of all women that was important to him. "It’s not about actresses alone,” he said. “We’re not supporting her (at that point naming named the actress) because she’s an actress."
He dug an even deeper hole for himself when it was pointed out that the law prohibits identifying victims of sexual assault so as to protect them from further harm. The actor obtusely and somewhat ironically replied "It doesn't matter if I have used the name. You have put out her name everywhere. Do not hide the name as there is nothing wrong with it.”
South India’s movie industries can scarcely afford such reckless behavior. At a time when Mollywood, Kollywood and Tollywood are ascendant in capturing a greater share of their country’s film business, scandal threatens to rip apart the business at its seams. The Dileep scandal has exposed what many have suspected for a long time: that a network of movie industry celebrities, politicians and police is engaged in illicit activities that include "black money" laundering, brutal mafia-style revenge tactics, and industry ostracization of actors and directors who dare to cross or stand up to the alleged government-industry cartel. Dileep and others with whom he is connected are said to control the Malayalam industry through their interlocking business interests in production, distribution, exhibition, and related enterprises.
The imbroglio, which was already threatening to engulf the entire Mollywood industry with potentially devastating financial effects, has now also tainted Kollywood through Hassan's insensitive remarks. Furious filmgoers in Kerala have been outspoken in support of Dileep's alleged victim, and have intimated that the industry will pay the heavy price of losing their loyalty.
Cozy relationships between the movie business and government have enabled famous actors in the past to commit heinous acts with impunity. Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has yet to serve a day in jail despite a string of multiple criminal charges against him that stretch back to 1998, including a conviction for manslaughter. So far in Kerala the rule of law appears to be holding up, as a court in Aluva rejected Dileep's bail application on Saturday, requiring him to remain in police custody. Celebrities and industry leaders not connected with the growing scandal would be wise to keep their names out of the public discourse lest they too become embroiled in controversy.
