Current Volume 9
A Silent Flag Hoisted in Mollywood: Feminist Resistance, Structural Fractures, And The Women in Cinema Collective’s Reckoning
Abstract
The cinematic expanse of Kerala has been celebrated for its progressive cinematic narrative and aesthetic excellence; however, it was recently unmasked by the 2024 Hema committee report as a site of sordid violence and a cradle for gendered exploitation of its celebrated artists. This study intends to position itself as a diagnostic scalpel that unpeels the Kerala’s cinematic prestige vs Hema committee revelations. The Hema committee report exposes the patriarchal side of a creative ground like cinema. the study dissects the qualitative testimonies from over 100+ women professionals. It unveils and showcases “casting couch” economies, infrastructural neglect, and retaliatory blacklisting as entrenched forms of exploitation and blackmailing. The study uses the phrase “silent flag” to evoke a muted yet defiant semaphore within the Mollywood cinematic shadows. The WCC [Women in Cinema Collective] is constituted by Government of Kerala to study the issues faced by women in film industry, their working atmosphere and also to suggest solutions to their problems [Expert Committee, 2019]. The WCC mounted a multifaceted campaign against the systemic injustice in Mollywood that drove policy shifts, amplified survivors’ voices via media and screenings. Their lateral and non-hierarchal structure challenged patriarchal guilds within the film society like AMMA. The study remarks the movement as a step towards the long withstanding battle against gendered inequality since WCC’s voice amplified subaltern experiences but contends with backlash and incomplete structural overhaul. Findings of the study underscores the need for psychoanalytic frameworks in the film labour studies.
Keywords
Silent Flag, Women in Cinema Collective, Hema Committee, Malayalam Cinema, Feminist Resistance, Cultural Politics, Gendered Exploitation, Backlash, Cultural Politics, Media Discourse
Citations
IRE Journals:
Nidhi Menon R, Dr. Bhargavi D Hemmige "A Silent Flag Hoisted in Mollywood: Feminist Resistance, Structural Fractures, And The Women in Cinema Collective’s Reckoning" Iconic Research And Engineering Journals Volume 9 Issue 11 2026 Page 2757-2768 https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I11-1717930
IEEE:
Nidhi Menon R, Dr. Bhargavi D Hemmige
"A Silent Flag Hoisted in Mollywood: Feminist Resistance, Structural Fractures, And The Women in Cinema Collective’s Reckoning" Iconic Research And Engineering Journals, 9(11) https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I11-1717930
About IRE Journals
IRE Journals is an open access online journals established with an aim to publish high quality of research work in various diciplines. We have more than 6 years in publications. Over 2500+ papers already published.
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