Malayalam film makeup artist Ratheesh Ambady accused of sexual harassment

Ratheesh Ambady, a well-known makeup artist in the Malayalam film industry, has been booked by Kerala police for allegedly sexually harassing a makeup artist and sending her obscene messages on social media. The incident happened last year. Ratheesh has acted in prominent films like Kandahar (2010), Mallu Singh (2012), Edakkad Battalion 06 (2019) and Otta (2023).

The accused has been booked under Section 354(A) (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Information Technology Act, Pooyappally police confirmed to TNM. The case is currently being investigated by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by IGP G Sparjan Kumar, which was set up to probe cases registered after the release of the Hema Committee report. The report, released on August 19, had exposed a deep systemic decay in the work culture of the Malayalam film industry and brought to light cases of blatant sexual harassment and abuse of power.

The Kerala High Court had earlier directed the SIT to examine the findings of the report, approach those who gave evidence before the committee and, if the survivors agree, take action against the perpetrators of sexual harassment. Accordingly, another makeup artist in the industry, Saji Koratty, was in a sexual harassment case by the Ponkunnam police.

TNM addressed the plight of the industry’s female makeup artists and hairdressers, many of whom claimed they were treated like second-class citizens, without access to basic facilities or security on film sets.