As women working in film across genres and industries in India we received the news of AMMA ( Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes) reinstating actor Dileep, who is an accused in the abduction and molestation of an actor, with shock and deep disappointment.
A body that is meant to represent artistes of the Malayalam movie industry showed complete disregard for its own member who is the victim of this gross crime. Even before the case has reached its conclusion, AMMA has chosen to validate a person accused of a very serious crime against a colleague. We condemn this cavalier attitude by artistes against women artistes who are working alongside them. There is misogyny and gender discrimination embedded in this action.
We admired and supported the Women in Cinema Collective that was formed by women film artistes in Kerala in the aftermath of the abduction and molestation of a colleague, a top star in the industry. We applaud the WCC members who have walked out of AMMA to protest the chairman’s invitation to reinstate the accused. We pledge our continued support to the Women in Cinema Collective who are blazing a trail to battle sexism in the film industry.
Cinema is an art form that can challenge deeply entrenched violence and discrimination in society. It is distressing to see an industry that stands amongst the best in the country and has even made a mark in world cinema choose to shy away from using their position and their medium responsibly at this important moment. Today women form a significant part of the film and media industries, we reject any attempt at silencing us and making us invisible.
Associations representing film workers have to function through democratic processes and we have to ensure that a few powerful members cannot subvert and marginalise voices of those less powerful than them. As women we are starkly aware of how vulnerable we are in every film industry. This is our attempt to come together and stand in solidarity with the Women in Cinema Collective and urge the chairman and other office bearers of AMMA to function with sensitivity and responsibility, and above all democratically.
1. Aanchal Kapur, Researcher, Film Curator, New Delhi
2. Aaradhana Kapur Kohli, Filmmaker, New Delhi
3. Aditi Pinto, Filmmaker, Mumbai
4. Akshay Gouri, Film Student, Kolkata
5. Aliza Noor Khan, Media practitioner, Hyderabad
6. Ambarien al Qadr, Filmmaker, New Delhi
7. Amira Sultan Kapur, Media practitioner, Chandigarh
8. Ananya Chakraborti, Filmmaker, Kolkata
9. Anjali Monteiro, Filmmaker, Academic, Mumbai
10. Anjali Punjabi, Producer, Filmmaker, Mumbai
11. Anubha Yadav, Writer, Academic, New Delhi
12. Anupama Chandra, Filmmaker, Film Editor, New Delhi
13. Anupama Srinivasan, Filmmaker, New Delhi
14. Aparna Sanyal, Filmmaker, New Delhi
15. Apurwa Yagnik, Film Editor, Filmmaker, Jaipur
16. Archana Borhade, Cinematographer, Mumbai
17. Archana Kapoor, Filmmaker, New Delhi
18. Aradhna Seth, Filmmaker, New Delhi
19. Aruna Raje, Filmmaker, Mumbai
20. Aruna Vasudev, Scholar, Author, Film Festival Director, New Delhi
21. Arunima Shankar, Film Editor, Goa
22. Ayisha Abraham, Academic, Filmmaker, Bengaluru
23. Batul Mukhtiar, Filmmaker, Mumbai
24. Bela Negi, Filmmaker, Mumbai
25. Bishakha Dutta, Filmmaker, Mumbai
26. Chandita Mukherjee, Filmmaker, Mumbai
27. Damini Benny Basu, Actor, Kolkata
28. Debadrita Bose, Filmmaker, Kolkata
29. Debalina Majumdar, Filmmaker, Kolkata
30. Debjani Mukherjee, Filmmaker, Mumbai
31. Deepa Dhanraj, Filmmaker, Bengaluru
32. Deepika Sharma, Filmmaker, New Delhi
33. Deepti Khurana, Academic, Rohtak
34. Deepti Pant, Filmmaker, New Delhi
35. Dinaz Stafford, Casting Director, Mumbai
36. Dipti Bhalla Verma, Film Editor, Filmmaker, Gurgaon
37. Ekavali Khanna, Film Actor, Kolkata
38. Fareeda AM, Film Editor
39. Farha Khatun, Filmmaker, Film Editor, Kolkata
40. Gargi Sen, Media Practitioner, New Delhi
41. Gauri D Chakraborty, Academic, Filmmaker, New Delhi
42. Geeta Sahai, Filmmaker, New Delhi
43. Gissy Michael, Sound Recordist and Designer, Mumbai
44. Gita Raju, Filmmaker, Mumbai
45. Gitanjali Rao, Animation Director, Mumbai
46. Gouri Patwardhan, Filmmaker, Pune
47. Gopi Desai, Actor, Filmmaker, Mumbai
48. Guneet Monga, Film Producer, Mumbai
49. HansaThapliyal, Filmmaker, Bangeluru
50. Heer Ganjwala, Filmmaker, Mumbai
51. Hemanti Sarkar, Film Editor, Mumbai
52. Iggy Ahluwalia, Art Director, Bombay
53. Indrani, Student, Writer, Kolkata
54. Irene Dhar Malik, Film Editor, Mumbai
55. Ishani Roy, Cinematographer, Mumbai
56. Jabeen Merchant, Film Editor, Mumbai
57. Jayoo Patwardhan, Filmmaker, Pune
58. Jenny Pinto, Filmmaker, Bengaluru
59. Jeroo Mulla, Academic, Mumbai
60. Jill Misquitta, Filmmaker, Kodaikanal
61. Jyoti Kapur Das, Filmmaker, Mumbai
62. Kasturi, Filmmaker, Film movement worker, Kolkata
63. Kavita Joshi, Filmmaker, Media Trainer, New Delhi
64. Kirtana Kumar, Actor/Director, Bangalore
65. Koel Sen, Filmmaker, Mumbai
66. Kunjila Mascillamani, Filmmaker, Mumbai
67. Lalitha Krishna, Filmmaker, Film Editor, Mumbai
68. Layashree Joshi, Filmmaker, Kolkata
69. Leena Manimekalai, Filmmaker, Chennai
70. Leena Yadav, Filmmaker, Mumbai
71. Lipika Singh Darai, Filmmaker, Film Editor, sound Recordist, Bhubaneshwar, Mumbai
72. Lovleen Mishra, Film Actor, Mumbai
73. Madhavi Tangella, Filmmaker, Academic, Kolkata
74. Madhuja Mukherjee, Academic, Artist, Filmmaker, Kolkata
75. Madhusree Dutta, Filmmaker, Mumbai
76. Maheen Mirza, Filmmaker, Cinematographer, Bhopal
77. Malini Dasari, Cinematographer, Hyderabad
78. Mansi Pingle, Filmmaker, Bengaluru
79. Manoshi Nath, Costume Designer, Mumbai
80. Meenakshi Barooah, Filmmaker, New Delhi
81. Minnie Vaid, Filmmaker, New Delhi
82. Miriam Chandy, Filmmaker, Mumbai
83. Moupia Mukherjee, Writer, Gender Exponent and Film Maker, Kolkata
84. Nabeela Rizvi, Filmmaker, New Delhi
85. Nalini Malani, Visual Artist, Mumbai
86. Namita Nayak Chopra, Sound Recordist and Designer, New Delhi
87. Namrata Rao, Film Editor, Mumbai
88. Nandita Das, Actor, Filmmaker, Mumbai
89. Natasha Badhwar, Cinematographer, Author, New Delhi
90. Neena Verma, Film Editor, Pune
91. Neha Parti Matiyani, Cinematographer, Mumbai
92. Nidhi Sharma, Film Student, Kolkata
93. Nilita Vachani, Filmmaker, New Delhi
94. Nina Sabnani, Academic, Animation Filmmaker, Mumbai
95. Nishtha Jain, Filmmaker, Mumbai
96. Nupur Basu, Filmmaker, Journalist, Bengaluru
97. Padmaja Shaw, Academic, Filmmaker, Hyderabad
98. Paramita Ghosh, Film Editor, Mumbai
99. Paromita Vohra, Filmmaker, Script Writer, Mumbai
100. Pinky Brahma Choudhury, Filmmaker, Bagli
101. Priya Thuvassery, Filmmaker, New Delhi
102. Priyanka Chhabra, Filmmaker, Film Editor, New Delhi
103. Priyanka Gaikwad, Sound Recordist
104. Pooja Gupte, Cinematographer, Mumbai
105. Pooja Sharma, Cinematographer, Mumbai
106. Puloma Paul, Film Editor, Mumbai
107. Putul Mahmood, Filmmaker, Academic, Kolkata
108. Radha Misra, Academic, Pune
109. Ranu Ghosh, Cinematographer, Filmmaker, Kolkata
110. Rajashree , Filmmaker, Novelist, Mumbai
111. Reema Borah, Filmmaker, Guwahati, Mumbai
112. Reena Mohan, Filmmaker, Film Editor, New Delhi
113. Rekha Nigam, Script Writer, Filmmaker, Mumbai
114. Renuka Shahane, Actor, Filmmaker, Mumbai
115. Richa Hushing, Filmmaker, Puducherry
116. Ridhima Mehra, Film Producer, New Delhi
117. Rinchin, Script Writer, Bhopal
118. Ruchika Negi, Filmmaker, Academic, New Delhi
119. Ruchika Oberoi, Filmmaker, Script writer, Mumbai
120. Rukshana Tabassum, Filmmaker, Mumbai
121. Saba Dewan, Filmmaker, New Delhi
122. Sabeena Gadihoke, Academic, Cinematographer, Filmmaker, New Delhi
123. Sagari Chhabra, Author, Filmmaker, New Delhi
124. Sakshi Gulati, Filmmaker, Pune
125. Sanchali Mukhopadhyay, Cinematographer, Kolkata
126. Sameera Jain, Filmmaker, Academic, New Delhi
127. Samina Mishra, Filmmaker, New Delhi
128. Sampritee Ghatak, Actor, Kolkata
129. Sania Farooqui, TV Anchor, Journalist, New Delhi
130. Sanghamitra Deb, Actor/Performer, Kolkata
131. Sayani Gupta, Film Actor, Mumbai
132. Sehjo Singh, Filmmaker, New Delhi
133. Shabani Hassanwalia, Filmmaker, New Delhi
134. Shabnam Sukhdev, Filmmaker, Mumbai
135. Shanthi Mohan, Cinematographer, Mumbai
136. Sharmistha Jha, Filmmaker, Kolkata
137. Shama Zaidi, Script Writer, Filmmaker, Mumbai
138. Shashwati Talukdar, Filmmaker, Dehradun
139. Sheeba Chadha, Film Actor, Mumbai
140. Sherna Dastur, Filmmaker, New Delhi
141. Shikha Sen, Film Editor, New Delhi
142. Shilpi Gulati, Filmmaker, Researcher, New Delhi
143. Shubhangini, Film Student, Kolkata
144. Shrushti Rao, Film Student, Kolkata
145. Shweta Ghosh, Filmmaker, Film Scholar, Pune
146. Shweta Venkat, Film Editor, Mumbai
147. Simantini Dhuru, Educationist, Filmmaker, Mumai
148. Smriti Nevatia, Film Curator, Mumbai
149. Solanki Chakroborty, Cinematographer, Mumbai
150. Sonali Jha Chatterjee, Filmmaker, New Delhi
151. Sohini Dasgupta, Filmmaker, Kolkata
152. Sreecheta Das, Filmmaker, Kolkata
153. Sreemoyee Bhattacharya, Filmmaker, Mumbai
154. Sruti Viswesaran, Filmmaker, Film Editor, Mumbai
155. Subasri Krishnan, Filmmaker, New Delhi
156. Suchitra Sathe, Film Editor, Pune
157. Sudarshana Chakroborty, Filmmaker, Journalist, Kolkata
158. Sujata Kundu, Filmmaker, Editor, Academic, Kolkata
159. Suhasini Mulay, Actor, Filmmaker, Mumbai
160. Sunanda Bhat, Filmmaker, Bengaluru
161. Surabhi Sharma, Filmmaker, Mumbai
162. Sushma Veerappa, Filmmaker, Bengaluru
163. Suzanne Caplan Merwanji, Filmmkaer, Mumbai
164. Swati Dandekar, Filmmaker, Bengaluru
165. Teena Kaur, Filmmaker, New Delhi
166. Teena Gill, Filmmaker, New Delhi
167. Tinni Mitra, Film Editor, Mumbai
168. T. Jayashree, Filmmaker, Bengaluru
169. T.N. Uma Devi, Filmmaker, New Delhi
170. Yasha Ramchandani, Film Editor, Mumbai
171. Yashodara Udupa, Filmmaker, Bengaluru
172. Urmi Juvekar, Script writer, Mumbai
173. Usha Bhasin, TV Producer, New Delhi
174. Usha Rao, Filmmaker, Bengaluru
175. Vanaja C, Filmmaker, Hyderabad
176. Vasundhara Phadke, Film Editor, Mumbai
177. Veena Bakshi, Filmmaker, Mumbai
178. Vineeta Negi, Film Editor, Pune