THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After the decision to make Internal Complaint Committees (ICC) in Malayalam tinsel world mandatory in order to reach out to the women crew, the state government has now decided to provide special financial assistance to budget movies of women directors. The move was wholeheartedly welcomed by Malayalam cinema’s women fraternity.

Rani George, Cultural Department Secretary, told Express they would try to devise a scheme to fund women’s movies. The modalities of the scheme will be prepared after a detailed consultation with various stakeholders in the sector. Welcoming the move, Bina Paul, vice-chairperson, Kerala Chalachitra Academy, said it was one of the great steps taken by the state government to empower women in Mollywood.

As of now, it is not clear whether the state government would provide loan or subsidy to the ventures of women. Deedi Damodaran, scriptwriter and one of the founding members of WCC, has submitted a representation to the state government seeking steps to ensure participation of more women behind the camera. One of the various suggestions it forwarded was subsidies for production crews that have 30 per cent representation.

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“It’s very heartening to know the state has come forward to help the worst neglected lot in Malayalam film industry. At a time when production houses are not ready to support the ventures of women crews, the state government has come forward to fund them. It is indeed a positive step. We’ve also given our suggestion to the Justice Hema Committee constituted by the state government in June 2017 to study issues of women in the film industry,” she said.