Malayalam star Parvathy Thiruvothu on Monday said Mumbai and in fact all film industries are infested with the same bug and those working in them need to clean up. The findings of the Justice Hema Committee report on sexual abuse in Malayalam cinema have created an uproar with more and more people speaking out against it every day.

Parvathy, who is currently promoting her Tamil film Thangalan and is a member of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), said, “When we speak up for ourselves, we stand up for everyone else. We need allies.” The Kerala government had set up the Justice Hema panel following efforts by the WCC.

“There is a ‘keeda’ (bug) in all industries and we have to clean it up ourselves. But I believe things are changing now. When we speak up for ourselves, we stand up for everybody. We need allies,” Parvathy said in a group interview with PTI.

She said the answer to facing gender discrimination in the male-dominated film industry is “long”.

Parvati said, “The more you ask this question and get involved, the better it will be, but right now we don’t have enough time to answer it.”

The Justice Hema Committee’s detailed and explosive report on August 19 shed light on the nexus of power in the Malayalam cinema industry and the exploitation faced by women working in it. A day after the report was published, Parvathy shared a post on her Instagram Stories, thanking all those who supported the WCC in this endeavour.

He wrote, “You have been with us in every good and bad situation. You reminded us when we started doubting ourselves. When others tried to suppress our voice, you raised our voice! You are a big part of this victory of truth. Thank you!”

As the controversy grew and more women began speaking out, director Ranjith resigned as head of the state-run Kerala Chalachitra Academy and actor Siddique resigned as general secretary of the Malayalam Movie Artistes Association on Sunday.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has announced a seven-member special team to investigate these issues.