As a woman, she feels scared, said actor Bhumi Pednekar while reacting to the Hema Committee report that exposed the harassment and sexual exploitation faced by women in the Malayalam film industry.

Speaking at the ABP Network’s Ideas of India 2025 in Mumbai late last week, Pednekar said the findings of the report, which was released in August last year, perhaps the first instance for any film industry in India, were heartbreaking and gruesome, a PTI report stated.

“It is one part of the Indian fraternity where proper legal process was followed, there were heart-breaking gruesome details that came out. As a woman in India today, I’m scared. This is again not just about fraternity,” Pednekar said.

“I’m scared when my younger cousin who lives with me in Mumbai goes to college and when she doesn’t come home till 11 pm, I get nervous. There’s deep conditioning of power. There’s a problem when front page news is only about violence done to women. This is not one off thing, this is a regular occurrence,” she added.

In the aftermath of an assault case on an actress involving actor Dileep in 2017, the Kerala government appointed a panel to study issues of sexual harassment and gender inequality.

The panel’s 233-page report exposed the power dynamics within the Malayalam film industry, revealing the multiple layers of exploitation faced by women artists.

On a query about the casting couch in the Hindi film industry, the 35-year-old actor — who earlier worked as an assistant casting director at Yash Raj Films — said though she has not personally faced it, she acknowledged the widespread nature of such incidents within the industry.

“Before I became an actor, I was casting in an institution that was clean and organised. My casting director Abhimanyu Ray would never cast a girl without me being present in the room. Now that’s the ecosystem in which I grew up.

“I was 17 when I started as a casting director in Yash Raj Films. I’ve no first-hand experience of it. But does that mean it doesn’t happen? No, it does because we’ve had many women who have dared to come out and speak about it. I would never negate a girl’s experience,” she said.

The actor also addressed the glaring gender pay gap that persists in Bollywood and said it happens across all industries globally.

Hard Work Alone No Guarantee To Success: Actor-producer Taapsee Pannu believes it is a common misconception that the world of movies is a fair place.  During the ABP Network’s Ideas of India 2025 on Friday, the 37-year-old actor shared her thoughts on the harsh realities of the film industry.

“The idealistic thing is that with hard work you will achieve everything that isn’t the case . Not everything is fair in the film industry. If you expect that things will be fair and square then that won’t happen.

“It will be unfair. You will get to hear a lot of things, so keep your ego aside, otherwise, you will be disappointed, besides get used to hearing bad things. It’s not about Bollywood. I’m not a victim of the industry,” Pannu said, a PTI report stated.

She advised aspiring talents to have a backup plan in case their efforts don’t lead to success.

“I had option B. I had done engineering, had a job and I could do that. I wanted to do an MBA, so I had kept all the options ready,” Pannu said, adding actors who are “outsiders” will often find that their success depends not just on talent but largely on audience reception of their work.

“Our stature depends on the audience. If the audience prefers watching hero-centric films in theatres and not ours, then how will we succeed? It’s not that the industry kicks us out of the industry, they rather give us opportunities,” she said.

The actor also opened up about her married life.  Pannu, who tied the knot with longtime partner, badminton star Mathias Boe, in 2023, said she didn’t feel the need to issue a “press release” about her wedding.

“I met him on the badminton court, I was in the audience, and he was playing, and it was a domestic league and that’s where I met him. I’ve known the person I married for ten years, and now I have known him for 11 years.

“I’ve never tried to hide that from anyone. The thing is he is neither a cricketer nor a businessman, so maybe people were not interested in it. But whenever I was asked about him, I’ve always spoken about it. My marriage is going well,” she added.