Bengali actress Srilekha Mitra, who had accused Malayalam director Ranjit of misbehaving with her, spoke exclusively to India Today TV and recounted a particular incident involving the filmmaker, which she termed as “inappropriate”.

Srilekha Mitra has alleged that the filmmaker tried to molest her during the pre-production of a film in 2009. However, the actress clarified that the director’s behaviour was not sexual harassment but he had crossed the limits.

“You can’t say he (Ranjit) behaved inappropriately. Some men and women alike would say it was a harmless act – that he was touching her bangle, he was touching her hair, or the back of her neck. He didn’t sexually assault me, or I wasn’t molested; he didn’t touch my private parts. But I know, as women, we know what is what, and it was probably a litmus test for him – was I responding to his actions or was he assessing my reactions, and maybe then he would take it to the next stage. So, I was uncomfortable,” she said.

The actor said, “I never gave her any kind of authority – whether it was romantic or anything else. So, I distanced myself from people and came home. I didn’t say anything about it; I covered it up. It was just inappropriate behaviour. It wasn’t sexual harassment.”

Srilekha Mitra further said that this kind of behaviour has become normal in the Malayalam film industry. “It was an unwritten order that women who come to work in this industry can go to any extent to get their work done. This is a fact, and sadly, it is true to some extent. There are women who have followed the system, there are women who have kept quiet about the system, and there are women who were eager to please those in power who allocate work,” Mitra said.

He highlighted the systemic issues that have been prevalent in the film industry for a long time. He said, “So, this has been a system that has been prevalent in this industry and is still prevalent. You know, money, name, fame and glamour – that is everything that is generally associated with one’s aspirations.”

In an earlier revelation on his YouTube channel, Mitra had spoken about the “dark realities” of the Malayalam film industry. “There is a dark shadow behind this industry. I spoke about this on my YouTube channel, where it became clear that some people from the state industry tried to defame me. The government, with people in power – the position to allot work to people – slandered me, saying that maybe it is too good, and that is why I took them. No, sorry.”

Mitra stressed his professional integrity, saying, “I had made the transition even then, and no one can find an instance where I went astray. This is my workplace, and my work is my worship.”

The actor made these allegations after the release of the Hema Commission report. On Monday, August 19, the Kerala government published a report revealing multiple cases of assault on female artistes in the industry. The report highlighted widespread and persistent sexual harassment of women in Malayalam cinema, with several women claiming they were subjected to unwelcome advances.

Following Mitra’s allegations, Ranjith resigned from the post of chairman of the state-run Kerala Chalachitra AcademyThe filmmaker has denied the allegations against him and said that he will prove these allegations wrong.