“When I did the script narration, I was told that once the film is released there could be parallel readings of it with whatever is happening in the society. Which is fair, even though we didn’t intend that, once a film is done they can read it the way they want. This crime isn’t only limited to the industry anyway, even though it’s related,” he continued.
When asked how to make film sets safer for women, the debutant filmmaker said the production house needs to take some measures to bring about systemic changes. “There’s a lot of systemic problems. Most films are a result of people coming together, who you don’t know. You don’t know their background or mindset, you’re there for a temporary period.
“If there’s a panel on every film, then there will be a responsible behaviour by people, you’d know that there is somebody watching out. That’s an important thing that should be brought to action as soon as possible. This panel—be it one person or two people—should be with them throughout the production of the movie,” he added.
Aattam, which was widely recognised and beloved by cinephiles for its take on sexual violence at workplaces had won three accolades at the 70th National Film Awards. The film stars Zarin Shihab, Vijay Forrt and Kalabhavan Shajohn, in prominent roles and is currently streaming on Prime Video.