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Kerala had the misfortune of witnessing a Facebook live by actor-producer Vijay Babu, who, with no regard for the legal system, named the survivor of sexual assault who had filed a complaint against him, while placing himself as a victim.
The body language and tone of the actor reeked of privilege and toxic masculinity, which does not come as a shock to Malayali viewers anymore – thanks to the likes of actors Dileep, Vinayakan, and many more.
It is this mob mentality that gives the Vijay Babus and Dileeps of the world the audacity to challenge the law and order and to openly proclaim that they would put a stop to movements like #MeToo.
Singer and dubbing artist Chinmayi Sripada, who came out against the predatory behaviour of poet-lyricist Vairamuthu, along with 17 other women, faced massive consequences for speaking out.
Chinmayi revealed in an interview with The Hindu that after her involvement with the #MeToo movement, her work quickly started drying up, and she was also terminated from the dubbing union.
But the reality remains the same for women who speak out – incessant character assassination, attack by the social media trolls, and most importantly, loss of work, and neglect from the keepers of law and order.
It is not just when a woman calls out a man that the inherent misogyny in the industry bares its ugly teeth. Even a personal decision, such as a divorce, can lead to slut-shaming of the women in the industry.
The trolls came rather ruthlessly for Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Tamil-Telugu actress, when the news of her divorce from actor Naga Chaitanya broke. While Naga Chaitanya's social media was filled with sympathy, love, and bright wishes for his future, social media was quick to come to speculations about Samantha's family values, career, and choices.
Is it a carefully crafted PR mechanism that is at play here or is it just the way the public has been conditioned by pop culture, which has dictated gender roles over the years?
A similar witch-hunt was faced by leading Malayalam actress Manju Warrier, who walked out of a 17-year-long marriage because her daughter did not accompany her and chose to stay with her father.
She was not even spared by her ex-husband, actor Dileep, who, in an endeavour to gain self-pity, frequently evoked the fact that their daughter chose to stay with him. However, it is this very man who is now the 8th accused of the sexual assault case filed by a popular south Indian actress, who was allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted in 2017.
This case had gained a lot of traction in the media as it perhaps might have been the first time ever that an actress came out and filed a formal complaint.
Dileep's has been one of those cases in which evidence has surfaced pointing to the accused trying to influence the investigation in multiple ways. It was also the repercussion of this case that led to the formation of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) in the Malayalam film industry and the formation of the Justice Hema Committee.
This committee was constituted under the Department of Cultural affairs in 2017 and is touted to shed light on the discrimination and harassment faced by female artistes in the Malayalam film industry. However, its report, which was submitted to the Kerala government in 2019, has not yet seen the light of the day.
The survivor in Dileep's case, through one of her social media posts, said:
This public scrutiny, aided by the political and judicial system's loyalties in cases like these not only protects men like Dileep and Vijay Babu but also gives them the audacity to challenge the system and invalidate the trauma of their victims.
While this takes immense courage, it is also a cry for help or support because they might not stand a chance if they only take the legal route.
In Vijay Babu's Facebook live, he tries to position himself as a victim, trying to play out to the sentiments of the public by dragging his mother, wife, and child into the narrative, which is a common tool used by men in these situations.
The previous incident was when actor Vinayakan callously ridiculed the concept of consent at a press meet last month. When it comes to brass tacks, consent is simple, but when it comes to these powerful, toxic men who are not used to being denied what they want, it becomes complex. And unfortunately, we live in a world where our system can easily be bent to criminals' whims and our legal system has become two-tiered as a different set of rules apply to men in positions of power.
Failure to arrest Vijay Babu under IPC Section 228A, despite clear video evidence watched by the entire state, will be the marker of the complete deterioration of our system.
(Meenakshi Sajeev is a writer, published poet, and corporate communications consultant. She has worked with the UN Environment and is currently with IBM. The author is based out of Bengaluru. You can find her on Instagram @menakshee.)
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