The Justice Hema Committee report that rocked Malayalam show business in August 2024 flagged not just chilling issues such as the casting couch and ostracism of those who refuse to comply with the demands of the powerful, but also a lack of basic facilities on sets and pay disparities. It basically highlighted extreme discrimination and exploitation faced by marginalised groups, particularly women. About two years later, actor Parvathy Thiruvothu — one of the founding members of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), which played a key role in the constitution of the three-member committee headed by retired High Court judge Justice K Hema — says that newcomers continue to be exploited by the industry, where they even work without proper contracts. Must Read | Parvathy Thiruvothu discusses female representation, activism and I, Nobody at Expresso Although Malayalam cinema has witnessed a paradigm shift over the past eight to nine years, she noted that it is still fear-based and not because people feel that such exploitation and discrimination are fundamentally wrong. While she is happy with …