As the Malayalam film industry continues to reel under the sexual harassment allegations, famous actor Mammootty on Sunday  denied the presence of any ‘power group’ in the film industry and called upon everyone working in the field to be vigilant so that nothing untoward happens there.

The veteran actor, in a Facebook post, praised the State Government’s initiative to constitute the Justice Hema Committee and requested it to implement the recommendations of the panel by enacting necessary legislation if there were any legal hurdles.

Breaking his silence on the report and the subsequent allegations that rocked the cinema world, Mammootty said he wholeheartedly welcomes and supports the recommendations and solutions in the committee’s report and urged all associations in the film industry to join hands in implementing them.

He said the police was vigorously investigating the complaints of sexual harassment and abuse raised by several women, so let the agency carry on with its probe honestly.

The actor also said as the full report of the committee is before the court, it can decide the punishment.

Mammootty, in his post, said his response was delayed as he was waiting for the organisation representing actors and its leadership to first respond to the committee report.

He said cinema was the “epitome” of society and the good and the bad present among the general public are there in the films too.

He also said as society pays close attention to the film industry, anything that happens there becomes a major topic of discussion.

“Therefore, those working in the film industry need to be careful and vigilant so that nothing untoward happens in this sector,” the actor said, adding that “cinema must survive.”

His response comes a day after his colleague in the film industry, actor Mohanlal, broke his silence over the shocking revelations in the committee’s report.

Mohanlal too denied the existence of a power group in the industry and had said cinema was a part of society and what happens everywhere else is happening in the film world also.  He too had welcomed the panel’s report and said wrongdoers should be punished if there was evidence against them.

The Justice K Hema Committee was constituted by the Kerala government after the 2017 actress assault case, and its report revealed instances of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam cinema industry.

Meanwhile, B Unnikrishnan, general secretary of the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA), on Sunday said there were “strong alliances” in the cinema industry, but he was not aware of any “power group” as mentioned in the Justice K Hema Committee report.

Unnikrishnan, speaking to a TV channel, said that it was an “undeniable fact” that there were “strong alliances” of some production houses with certain directors, writers and actors to make big films.

“They often work together on several projects back-to-back and naturally, everyone would try to align themselves with them to get opportunities. However, such alliances are based on commercial interests,” he said.

He also said that such alliances were not confined to Malayalam cinema alone and were present in film industries everywhere.  At the same time, he said that there cannot be a secret lobby of different cinema-related organisations which meet periodically to decide who should be isolated from films.

“The industry will not be able to work like that,” he said in response to queries about whether there was a “power group” in the film sector.

On whether the response of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) to the committee report was delayed, Unnikrishnan said that it was not late, but what they said was criticised by the general public. “They (AMMA) should be ready to accept that criticism and learn from it,” he said.

He also said that the present crisis in AMMA was due to the fact that it was not a trade union like organisation and has a loose structure.  They lack the “experience and flexibility” to deal with the issues that were mentioned in the Hema Committee report, he further said. “If they had a trade union like structure or system, all this would not have happened,” he added.

Regarding director Vinayan’s complaint to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to remove him (Unnikrishnan) from the cinema policy making committee, the FEFKA general secretary said there was no need to keep him away from the panel.

“I am in the panel as the general secretary of FEFKA representing people of 21 crafts or trade unions and not as an individual. What I say there will be the opinion of those 21 trade unions. So, I see no requirement to remove me from the committee,” he said.

Vinayan has sought Unnikrishnan’s removal from the panel on the grounds that he had been penalised by the Competition Commission of India for unfair trade practices.