Issue of consent problematic when power equation is skewed: Beena Paul

Film editor Beena Paul delivers a lecture at the Kerala Museum at Edappally on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: R.K. Nithin

The issue of consent is problematic when one person involved wields power. This is more so in a work situation where the person with power can determine one’s work future, cause humiliation or even terminate one’s work, film editor Beena Paul said here on Saturday.

She added that the feeling of being humiliated and the agony of any person victimised was deep. She was answering a question on the recent allegations of sexual misconduct in the Malayalam film industry.

The question was raised during her talk on a project on women in Indian cinema with the title ‘Recording a Women’s History in Cinema: Necessity and Challenges’.

The programme was organised at the Kerala Museum at Edappally. Ms. Paul said the project faced scarcity of material. She also recalled that the film world used to be considered a world of men, and that it had to be overcome as recounted by women filmmakers interviewed for the project.