The Hema Committee report has the potential to catalyse change across south Indian film industries.

In this issue

04-10-202433 STORIES

Press conference by the Women in Cinema Collective

Lights, camera, litigation: Hema Committee report spotlights Malayalam cinema’s gender battleground

The precarity of women and other marginalised communities in Malayalam cinema reflects Kerala’s hierarchical, feudal, and patriarchal society.

Aparna Eswaran,Silpa Satheesh,Arathi P.M.

frontline cover spotlight hema committee report.jpg

CINEMA

Hema Committee report can be a catalyst for structural change in Malayalam cinema

The report’s release could facilitate the overhaul of workplace practices and address long-standing issues concerning women in all film industries.

Thulasi K. Raj

INTERVIEW

It cannot get dirtier, it can only get cleaner: Bina Paul

The National Award-winning editor believes that the feudal mindset existing in certain sections of the Malayalam film industry must go.

R.K. Radhakrishnan

INTERVIEW

It’s all about power and the entitlement to misuse it: Sreelekha Mitra

Actor speaks about rampant sexual harassment in Indian cinema, its normalisation across regional industries, and her personal encounters with abuse.

Suhrid Sankar Chattopadhyay

INTERVIEW

The Hema Committee Report will make the Malayalam film industry safer: Revathi

The actor speaks about the WCC, the revelations made in the report, its fallouts, and potential solutions to ensure safety of women in cinema.

R.K. Radhakrishnan

From the Sidelines

Is Modi past his best?

The Prime Minister’s grip is weakening, evident in BJP State unit squabbles and growing pushback from allies, signalling a shift in power.

Saba Naqvi

Legislation

Aparajita Bill: A knee-jerk reaction

Brought in response to the Kolkata hospital rape and murder, the Bill has been universally panned as regressive, unconstitutional, and anti-feminist.

Suhrid Sankar Chattopadhyay

CONTROVERSY

UPS: An ‘improvement’ on NPS or a step back in pension reforms?

The Unified Pension Scheme draws flak from government employees and a studied silence from political parties.

T.K. Rajalakshmi

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh with BJP leaders

Controversy

The law bends for godmen

Controversial godman Ram Rahim’s latest furlough, aimed at helping the BJP in Haryana electorally, raises serious questions about the justice system.

Ashutosh Sharma

SPOTLIGHT

Decent, homely, and IELTS pass

When women in Punjab get high IELTS scores, it opens the floodgates to marriage proposals as families even ignore caste and class for English marks.

Anuj Behal

80683_13_12_2022_9_20_20_1_DHARAVIREDEVELOPMENTPROJECT011.JPG

URBAN AFFAIRS

The great Mumbai robbery: How prime land is being sold to vested interests on the cheap

This is happening under the guise of rehabilitating residents displaced by redevelopment. Activists and concerned citizens are up in arms.

Amey Tirodkar

South Asia

India re-evaluates Myanmar strategy following Bangladesh’s leadership change

The junta is losing control to armed ethnic groups. India must even-handedly support key players to avoid a Bangladesh-like fiasco.

Pranay Sharma

The ruins of a stone house in the West Bank

WEST ASIA

Palestinians are losing their land and livelihood to Israeli settlers

The ongoing genocide in Gaza obscures the insidious violence in the West Bank that affects nearly three million Palestinians.

Iftikhar Gilani

TRIBUTE

Sitaram Yechury (1952-2024): Everyone’s favourite comrade

A celebrated parliamentarian who commanded respect across political divides and brought together diverse political forces to fight communalism.

T.K. Rajalakshmi

Tribute

A.G. Noorani (1930-2024): A polymath passes on

“Ghafoorbhai” was one of the sharpest minds on constitutional law. He leaves behind a vast legacy of legal scholarship and incisive journalism.

T.K. Rajalakshmi

Wildlife Translocation

India’s cheetah conservation plan is losing steam

Two years after their introduction, not a single adult cheetah roams free in India. Conservation experts question the plan’s viability and impact.

Ravi Chellam

PHOTO ESSAY

Sumba: Weaving together past and present

The people of the Indonesian island combat the impact of climate change on livelihoods by taking up weaving and exporting traditional textiles.

Boris R. Thebia

Counter Culture

Vijay’s GOAT is a film overburdened by its star

While this is not unusual for star films, what is exceptional is the limits to which GOAT stretches this.

Prathyush Parasuraman

History

Old stones, new tales: How inscriptions rewrite Kashmir’s religious history

A new study has revealed narratives of syncretism that counter the politically motivated and polarised versions of the Valley’s history.

Shakir Mir

INTERVIEW

Dislocation is always productive: Akhil Katyal

The writer, poet, and translator talks about his poetic sensibility, new urban landscapes, and finding inspiration in Mumbai’s complexity after Delhi.

Varsha Tiwary

Book Review

When ‘othering’ meets alienation: Being a Muslim in India

Mujibur Rehman challenges the monolithic and rigid portrayals of Indian Muslims, be it in terms of faith or culture or both, in Shikwa-e-Hind.

Susan Ram

Migrant workers on the road during the lockdown.jpg

Book Review

Modi’s ‘second republic’: Dismantling India’s democratic legacy

This is, at its core, a historian’s book. It focusses on state institutions and the rights citizenship should guarantee in a healthy democracy.

Satish Deshpande

BOOK REVIEW

The mango: India’s beloved fruit has a storied past

Sopan Joshi’s tribute to the mango leads the reader to an elaborate feast of history, mythology, culture, ecology, international diplomacy, and more.

Nandini Bhatia

Book review

Click and bait: Living in the time of viral nationalism

Prayaag Akbar’s Mother India paints a disturbing picture of a tech-driven Hindu rashtra, blurring the lines between reality and AI-driven propaganda.

Aditya Mani Jha

Book Review

Huckleberry Finn’s adventures continue

Percival Everett’s James—longlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize—is more than just a retelling of the classic from the fugitive slave, Jim’s perspective.

Latha Anantharaman

Bookshelf

New books on the shelves

A science fiction novel about the meaning of humanity, a book on the power of public protest, and many more.

SHORT STORY

The keeper of desolation: A Hindi story in translation

Translated from the Hindi by Sayari Debnath

Chandan Pandey

BACK PAGE

‘The Dystopian Times’ by Appupen

Appupen

Letters

Readers respond to Frontline’s coverage.

Bookmark stories to read later.
Comment on stories to start conversations.
Subscribe to our newsletters.
Get notified about discounts and offers to our products.