Terrified for her safety, Indian actress Sreelekha Mitra said she pushed chairs and a sofa against her hotel door after an award-winning veteran director sexually harassed her.

Mitra waited 15 years to speak out about the incident, one of several cases exposing the dark underbelly of India's Malayalam-language "Mollywood" film industry that has won awards at Cannes.

Her revelation was spurred by an explosive government report documenting widespread sexual harassment in an industry dominated by powerful and wealthy men who believe that an actress willing to kiss on screen would do the same in real life.