In purdah, Kerala film producer protests ‘male domination'

Indian Express

a day ago

Sandra Thomas, one of the few women producers in the Malayalam film industry, filed nomination to contest for the post of president of Kerala Film Producers' Association (KFPA) on Saturday, intensifying her battle with the leaders of the association.
She arrived at the KFPA office in Kochi wearing a black purdah to file her nomination to contests in the upcoming executive committee elections scheduled for August 14.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Thomas said her gesture was a mark of protest against the 'male-dominated' association and purdah was the 'most appropriate attire to wear' based on her past experiences with people leading the producers' body.
'The producers' association has been run by a coterie of 10-15 men for the last several years. There is no representation for women. They don't even invite women to give a flower to someone on a dais during a function,' said Thomas, 38, who owns Sandra Thomas Productions.
She has previously filed a police complaint against four office-bearers of KFPA — president Anto Joseph, secretary B Rakesh, executive committee members Anil Thomas and Ouseppachan Valakkuzhi. In her complaint, she alleged that they used derogatory language during a meeting on film distribution.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case filed the chargesheet before a court in Kochi in April. The KFPA office-bearers were booked under IPC Sections 354A (sexual harassment), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of a common intention).
'Those named in the case are set to contest the elections even as the trial is yet to begin. Ideally, they should stay away from the elections,' said Thomas, whose run-ins with the KFPA began after she wrote a letter to the executive committee questioning the office-bearers for their silence over the findings of the Hema Committee report on the issues faced by women in the Malayalam film industry.
'I was sent a show-cause notice for my remarks, and I sent my explanation twice. Citing the explanation unsatisfactory, they expelled me from the producers' association in November 2024,' said Sandra. She, however, got a reprieve from a court in Kochi as it stayed the KFPA decision to revoke her primary membership in December 2024.
'They also harassed me by sending a fake story about me to all producers in the annual report of the body,' said Thomas, who promised that she would break the monopoly and bring in positive changes if she got a chance to helm the body.
'The producers' association had over 600 members in 2016. Now, it has come down to 316 members with voting rights. It is being run on the whims and fancies of a select few who expel anyone expressing dissent over their actions. They are not giving membership to new people. The bye-law says that even if you have produced only one film, you are eligible for membership,' she said.
Thomas also alleged that the KFPA is not making efforts to help struggling producers and is denying pensions to them while giving them to wealthy producers. Meanwhile, KFPA vice president Suresh Kumar dismissed the allegations as baseless. 'This is all part of a publicity stunt. Has any other woman producer raised the issue of discrimination? As for the criminal case against our office-bearers, there is no law barring people accused in cases from contesting in elections of an association. In our country, even public representatives have cases against them,' said Kumar.
He also said it is wrong to say that the KFPA has not done anything for its members, 'The producers association built a modern building in Kochi with assets worth over Rs 15 crore. It has the facility to make the master copy ready for digital distribution, such as UFO and Qube. It helps producers save the immense cost associated with content mastering,' said Kumar.
Thomas co-founded the production company, Friday Film House, with actor-producer Vijay Babu, and they produced movies such as Amen, Philips and the Monkey Pen and Aadu. Thomas and Babu parted ways in 2017. She is married to businessman Wilson John Thomas, and the couple has twin daughters.