Kerala State Chalachitra Academy chairperson Ranjith on Sunday submitted his resignation following allegations of inappropriate behaviour levelled against him by Bengali actress Sreelekha Mitra. Mr. Ranjith confirmed to The Hindu that he has submitted his resignation to Minister for Cultural Affairs Saji Cherian.
In a voice clip he sent out to the media, he said that he does not want the situation that he was facing as an individual to be used to tarnish the image of the State government which appointed him to the post. He said he will respond legally to the allegations and expressed confidence that the truth will come out one day. Minister for Cultural Affairs Saji Cherian told the media that Ranjith has informed him of the decision.
Mr. Ranjith’s resignation came close on the heels of the resignation of Siddique as the general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) following allegations of sexual assault levelled by actress Revathy Sampath. The resignations of two major figures who are part of the Malayalam film industry comes within a week of the publication of the Hema committee report on the issues faced by women in the Malayalam film industry.
Ms. Mitra had accused Ranjith of behaving misappropriately with her during the pre-production period of the 2009 Malayalam film Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha. Her allegations were corroborated by documentary filmmaker Joshy Joseph, who said that she had told him about the incident on the same day. Mr. Ranjith had denied the allegations although he agreed that she had met him as part of an audition for the role in the presence of other crew members.
After the allegations were levelled on Friday, the State government came under intense pressure from film industry figures as well as the Opposition and even from within the Left Democratic Front (LDF) to force Mr. Ranjith’s resignation, but Minister for Cultural Affairs Cherian appeared not too keen on it. He had maintained that Ranjith, an acclaimed filmmaker, cannot be punished just based on accusations. If a formal complaint is received, strong action will be taken, he had said.
