She walks onto a film set for the first time.
No contract. No paperwork. No safety net.
Just a smile and one sentence:
"We're like family here. Just do it. You're getting an opportunity."
That's the trap.
And according to Parvathy Thiruvothu, it's still happening in Malayalam cinema — nearly two years after the explosive Justice Hema Committee report ripped the industry open in August 2024.
The Hema Committee didn't just whisper. It documented:
Parvathy — a founding member of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) that pushed for this very report — says the industry has shifted.
But not for the reason you'd hope.
Her words, at the Expresso series in Chennai, cut clean.
The powerful aren't suddenly enlightened.
They're just scared.
Scared of being called out.
Scared of the write-ups.
Scared of cancel culture.
"I'll still take it," she said.
But she added a warning that lands like a slap:
👉 "Fear will only last so long. If they don't see consequences, they'll revert."
Here's the part Parvathy is vehemently against.
Superstars in Malayalam cinema aren't treated like colleagues.
They're treated like gods.
And when a god walks onto set, a newcomer can't exactly negotiate a contract, ask about ICC policy, or say "actually, my call time was six hours ago."
Deification kills accountability. Every time.
Instead of politely knocking on the doors of film associations, WCC walked up to then-Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and asked one devastating question:
"This industry brings your government revenue. Where is the public policy? Where is the regulator?"
Because you can't police a system from inside itself.
Parvathy knows the powerful are hoping the women get tired and go home.
She had a response ready:
"We are already tired of the patriarchy. We are anyway going to be in an inconvenienced position. So, might as well add some spice to it."
Her next film I, Nobody — opposite Prithviraj Sukumaran — hits screens July 9.
But this fight? It doesn't have a release date. It just has her, refusing to sit down.
That's all for now!
