The findings of the three-member panel are pretty damning.
Parts of report have been redacted to hide identities of survivors and those accused of wrongdoing – says the industry is dominated by “a mafia of powerful men” and that “sexual harassment of women is rampant”.
Headed by a former judge of the Kerala High Court and set up by the state government in 2017, the Hema committee details the abysmal working conditions on sets - including a lack of toilets and changing rooms for junior artists, no food and water for them, poor pay and no accommodation or transport facilities.
“There are no toilets, so women have to go in the bushes or behind thick trees. During their periods, not being able to change their sanitary napkins for long hours and holding urine for long causes physical discomfort and makes them sick, in some cases needing hospitalisation,” it says.
The panel was set up in the aftermath of the horrific sexual assault on a leading actress in the film industry. Bhavana Menon, who has worked in more than 80 films in southern Indian languages and won a number of prestigious awards, was assaulted by a group of men while travelling from Thrissur to Kochi in February 2017.
Her assault made headlines, especially after Dileep, one of the Malayalam-language film industry's biggest actors and Menon's co-star in half a dozen films, was named as an accused and charged with criminal conspiracy. He denied the charges, but was arrested and held in custody for three months before being released on bail. The case continues to be heard in court.
Chief Minister's Office Members of the commission seen handing over a report tied up with pink ribbon to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi VijayanChief Minister's Office
The Hema committee report was handed over to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in December 2019
A few months after the attack on Ms Menon, Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) – a group formed by some of her colleagues in a film industry known for its variety of successful mainstream and critically acclaimed films - petitioned the government, seeking swift action in the case and also to address the problems faced by women in cinema.
In the report, retired Justice K Hema says the WCC told her that “women are being silenced as the prestige of the film industry needs to be upheld”.
The panel interviewed several dozen men and women, including artists, producers, directors, scriptwriters, cinematographers, hairstylists, makeup artists and costume designers, and “gathered evidence including video and audio clips and WhatsApp messages”.
Describing sexual harassment as the “worst evil” women in cinema face, the report said the panellists saw evidence that “sexual harassment remains shockingly rampant” and that “it goes on unchecked and uncontrolled”.
The industry “is controlled by a group of male actors, producers, distributors, exhibitors and directors who have gained enormous fame and wealth” and they were among the perpetrators, it added.
“Men in industry make open demands for sex without any qualms as if it’s their birthright. Women are left with very little options but to oblige - or reject at the cost of their long awaited dream of pursuing cinema as their profession.
“The experiences of many women are really shocking and of such gravity that they have not disclosed the details even to their close family members.”
Many of the people the panel approached were initially reluctant to speak because “they were afraid they would lose their jobs”.
“In the beginning, we found their fear strange but as our study progressed we realised it was well-founded. We are concerned about their and their close relatives' safety.”
The report, the WCC says, has vindicated its stand. “For years, we have been saying that there is a systemic problem in the industry. Sexual harassment is just one of them. This report proves it,” Beena Paul, an award-winning editor and one of the founding members of the WCC, told the BBC.
“We were always told that we were troublemakers [for raising such issues]. This report proves that it [the condition] is far worse than what even we thought,” she said.
Arun Chandra Bose/BBC Women from the Mahila Congress sit in protest, holding up posters, demanding action on Hema panel report in Kochi on FridayArun Chandra Bose/BBC
Women from the opposition Congress party have demanded action based on the Hema panel report
Members of the WCC say they have faced difficulty in getting work since they began demanding better working conditions on film sets. “People don’t like the fact that we are asking questions. So, quite a few members have faced difficult situations,” Ms Paul says.
The Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), a top industry body which counts superstars like Mohanlal and Mamooty among its members, denied the accusations. Its general secretary Siddique disagreed that there was a small, powerful group that controlled the industry.
He also denied that sexual harassment was rampant in the industry and said that most of the complaints they received were about the delay or a lack of payment for workers. He said conditions for women had improved on film sets in the past five years and all facilities were now available to them.
In the week since its release, the report has created ripples in the state, with activists and prominent opposition leaders demanding action against those accused of wrongdoing.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said if any woman who testified before the committee came forward to file a complaint, the government would take action. "No matter how big they are, they will be brought before the law," he said.
On Thursday, a public interest petition was filed in the Kerala High Court, seeking initiation of criminal proceedings against those accused in the report.
The court ordered the government to submit a copy of the report and the judges said they would decide if criminal action needed to be taken once they had read it.
Getty Images A wall plastered with Malayalam film posters like Oru Adaar Love Story and JuneGetty Images
Malayalam film industry makes both popular and critically-acclaimed films
Allegations of harassment and abuse in films are not new in India – in 2018, the #MeToo movement hit the country’s most popular film industry Bollywood after actress Tanushree Dutta accused veteran actor Nana Patekar of behaving inappropriately towards her on a film set in 2008. Patekar denied the allegations.
Ms Dutta, who has since claimed that she has been denied work, described the Hema committee report as “useless”, adding that earlier reports about making workplaces safer for women had not helped.
Parvathy Thiruvothu, an award-winning actress and a key member of the WCC, however, told Asianet news channel that she considered the release of the report "a victory".
“It’s opened up a door for big changes within the industry,” she said.
Jeo Baby, director of The Great Indian Kitchen, a critically-acclaimed film that examines the patriarchal structure within the family, told the BBC that while gender issues remain a concern, change is under way in the industry. “This is the right time to correct this. The film industry has to fight this together.”
The report, which has made several recommendations to make the industry a safe place for women, says their inquiry and recommendations are not to find fault with any individual, but "an earnest attempt to ennoble a profession so that it becomes a viable career option for aspiring artists and technicians, both male and female".
“Hopefully filmmaking will become so safe that parents can send their daughters and sons to the profession with the same confidence and sense of security as they send their children to an engineering firm or a college,” it adds.
Bhavana Menon, a popular actress from the southern Indian state of Kerala, who was abducted and sexually assaulted in 2017, has broken her silence after five years, describing her "difficult journey from being a victim to a survivor".
Menon, who has worked in more than 80 films in southern Indian languages and won a number of prestigious awards, was assaulted by a group of men while travelling from Thrissur to Kochi in February 2017.
Her assault made headlines, especially after Dileep, one of the Malayalam-language film industry's biggest actors and Menon's co-star in half a dozen films, was named as an accused and charged with criminal conspiracy. He denied the charges against him, but was arrested and held in custody for three months before being released on bail. The case is being heard in a trial court.
"I was just a normal fun-loving girl and then this one incident happened that turned my life upside down. Most people see the smiling photos I post on social media, but I have been to hell and back," Menon told me on the phone from the southern city of Bangalore.
"I became this victim, this 'assaulted actress'. And for long, I kept asking, 'Why me?' I was blaming myself and I was looking for a way out," she said.
"But in 2020, after the trial began, I spent 15 days giving evidence in court. And that's when things changed. Here I was, wanting to forget and move on, but then I had to remember everything, every tiny detail about the case."
On the day of her assault, Menon was travelling from her hometown Thrissur to the city of Kochi, where she was to dub for a film the next morning, when she was kidnapped. Her attackers made videos of the assault - "maybe they wanted to blackmail me", she told me.
Arun Chandra Bose Actor DileepArun Chandra Bose
Dileep was arrested in 2017 and spent three months in jail
Considering her - and Dileep's - celebrity status, there was tremendous media attention on the case and on any given day, local news channels invited panellists to speak for and against her.
Many took to victim shaming on social media - they asked why she was travelling at 7pm and questioned her morality, some abused her and some said the case was all made up, that she had "staged it".
"I was devastated, broken into a million pieces, all these things were very hurtful to me. I sometimes wanted to scream at the top of my lungs," she told Indian digital platform Mojo Story. "My dignity was snatched and then I was victim shamed."
Under Indian law, the identity of those who have been sexually assaulted is to be protected at all costs, but Menon said that right from the start, it was known that she was the one who had been attacked.
India's comic 'super hero' rape survivor
"I was an established actress and the initial reports only said I was kidnapped, so some of the TV channels showed my photographs. Once the details of the sexual assault became known, they removed my name and photos, but by then everyone knew it was me."
In January, for the first time since her "nightmare" began five years ago, Menon publicly acknowledged in an Instagram post that she was the "survivor" of the assault.
"This has not been an easy journey. The journey from being a victim to becoming a survivor. For 5 years now, my name and my identity have been suppressed under the weight of the assault inflicted on me," she wrote.
"Though I am not the one who had committed the crime, there have been many attempts to humiliate, silence and isolate me. But at such times I have had some who stepped forward to keep my voice alive. Now when I hear so many voices speak up for me I know that I am not alone in this fight for justice," she added.
One of India's pre-eminent art and cultural institutions, Kalakshetra, has been embroiled in an ugly row over allegations of sexual harassment against a faculty member and three repertory artists who work as substitute teachers at the prestigious dance academy.
At the centre of the controversy is a college run by Kalakshetra, the Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts, famous for teaching Bharatanatyam, a classical dance form.
Last week, police arrested assistant professor and accomplished dancer Hari Padman after a former student lodged a complaint accusing him of sexual harassment.
It came after days of protests by more than 200 students of the institute, located in the city of Chennai in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. They alleged that sexual harassment had been going on at the campus for years and accused the administration of ignoring their complaints.
In a short statement on its website, the Kalakshetra Foundation - which is an autonomous institution under India's culture ministry - blamed "vested interests" for trying to "sully" its reputation.
But after the scandal made headlines, the foundation announced a three-member panel, led by a retired high court judge, to investigate the allegations. It also suspended Hari Padman and said the services of the three repertory artists had been "dispensed with pending inquiry".
"As the inquiry is in progress, it will be inappropriate to make any comment on the incidents mentioned in your mail," it told the BBC in an email.
The Tamil Nadu State Commission for Women has also launched an inquiry into the allegations.Before his arrest, Hari Padman had denied the allegations against him in meetings with college authorities. He also told a TV channel that he would make every effort to seek justice.
"There are hundreds of students studying in Kalakshetra. Ask them if I ever misbehaved with them or misspoke. I have never abused anybody. I stand by my conscience and I know they do not have a shred of evidence," he told News18, adding that he would rely on CCTV footage to prove his innocence.
His wife has also defended him and lodged a counter-complaint against the complainant and two of Kalakshetra's teachers, accusing them of levelling false charges against her husband out of "jealousy and professional rivalry".
Divya Hari Padman said the charges against her husband were "an act of revenge" because he had "chided" some students for bad behaviour and that the two teachers had "instigated" the former student to lodge the complaint.
Kalakshetra is often described as "the IIT of fine arts" - drawing a comparison with India's premier technology institutes that are extremely tough to get into. Students who earn an engineering degree from there are sought after globally.
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Similarly, Kalakshetra brings name and fame to its students, helps them earn well and gives them opportunities to perform across the world.
Many students told the BBC that it had been their life's dream to join the dance academy and that they felt on top of the world when they were accepted.
But they now say that harassment from some teachers has led them to doubt their self-worth.
The BBC spoke to a dozen students, teachers, former students and other staff and heard claims of alleged abuse suffered by young dancers. All of them spoke on condition of anonymity because the alleged abusers are famous and accomplished dancers.
Getty Images Dance students at Kalakshetra in ChennaiGetty Images
The prestigious academy attracts students from across India and the world
Many of the complainants alleged a lack of freedom at Kalakshetra, verbal abuse, body shaming and caste discrimination. Some students said they were told to lose weight, others alleged they were not given important roles and discriminated against for their darker complexion.
But the most alarming allegations were about sexual harassment - both male and female students have complained of inappropriate touches and receiving lewd messages - and, they claimed, the authorities' refusal to take complaints seriously.
One former student told the BBC that she was harassed and her grades fell when she resisted a teacher's advances.
"He sent me a friend request on social media. When I didn't accept it, he kept pestering me, asking why couldn't I accept him as a friend," she said.
"Finally when I accepted his request, he started sending me lewd texts. They were so bad that I could not even share them with my close friends. After I unfriended him, he started to treat me badly," she said, alleging that her grades plummeted after her falling out with him.
A male student narrated a similar story of harassment at the hands of a different teacher.
"At midnight, he sent me a 'good night' message. When I replied, he asked if I was alone and if he could come over. I was shocked. He then asked for a video call so that he could see me 'fully'. He continued sending lewd messages. I could not handle this, I fell ill," he said, adding that the harassment increased after he complained to the authorities.
"The administration did nothing about it and it further emboldened the harasser. It also prevented more students from coming forward to complain," he said.
Lawyer BS Ajeetha, who was an external member of the institute's internal complaints committee (ICC) for sexual harassment since 2018 and quit recently, says the allegations against Hari Padman first surfaced in December in a now-deleted Facebook comment.
Leela Samson, one of India's best-known dancers and a former director of Kalakshetra, had accused an unnamed teacher of "molesting students" and alleged that "he was in an inappropriate relationship with a female student". She also warned parents against sending their daughters to an institute peopled by "sexual predators".
Although the post did not name the teacher, Hari Padman and the female student were named later in the comments. Both denied that there was anything inappropriate about their relationship.
Ms Ajeetha, who was part of the ICC when it investigated the case, said "the student condemned the way her name was dragged into the controversy and said her relationship with Hari Padman was one of teacher and student. The case was closed because the female student denied any accusations of harassment".
A tiny tool Indian women use to fight sexual harassment
But since then, many students have come forward to level serious allegations against Hari Padman and the three repertory artists. Groups of students and alumni have also come to defend the institution and its teachers. Some have even suggested that the "anonymous allegations" against Hari Padman were "false and politically motivated".
The ICC considered some other allegations too - one from a former female student accusing Hari Padman of "shouting at her and removing her from a dance show" and another from three male students who'd alleged sexual harassment by other teachers.
Ms Ajeetha says the ICC couldn't do anything in these cases because India's sexual harassment law is gender specific and allows ICC to only take up cases of women and only those cases that have explicit allegations of sexual harassment.
"We forwarded the complaints to the management, advising them to take "stringent action" against the teachers involved. But the administration did not deal properly with the students," she added.
One student said they were taught to tolerate everything and many fell in line because it's a very close community of artists and young students fear that speaking out could affect their careers.
For the moment, he says, they have paused their protests and are busy writing their semester exams.
"We called off the agitation after the institute's governing body assured us that our grievances would be looked into and action would be taken against our abusers," he said.