Following the surge in the number of sexual misconduct allegations against Malayalam actors, including executive committee members of the Association of Malayalam Movie Actors (AMMA), veteran actor Mohanlal resigned as its president on Tuesday (August 27).
Following his resignation, all the executive committee members of AMMA submitted their resignations.
During an online meeting, Mohanlal announced his decision to step down, leading to the resignation of the entire executive committee.
Mohanlal said he took the decision with pain after speaking to senior actor Mammootty. He is expected to speak to the media soon.
“The allegations are against top actors. We resigned as we decided to let the newcomers in the executive committee who are newly elected lead AMMA. There should be transparency as people are watching the developments that are happening. We are always with the victims. Allegations can be made by anyone, but if they are proven, AMMA won’t support them,” Jayan Cherthala, who was vice president of the executive committee, told the media.
“It’s painful to see that the top office bearers are also facing allegations. Let the ad hoc committee lead [AMMA] for the next two months. A new executive committee will be formed as per the bylaw. It was a decision taken without any disagreements,” he added.
Even though dissolved, the current executive committee will act just as an ad-hoc committee for the charity activities that AMMA is currently doing. Sources said a new election will be held within two months to appoint a new executive board.
The development comes on the heels of the release of the Hema Committee report on August 19 that exposed the sexual harassment and difficulties endured by female actors in the Malayalam film industry.
Following the release of the report, several female actors raised their voices against the harassment they had to face from male actors.
Feared more allegations
Mohanlal was elected as the president of AMMA for the third consecutive term on August 19 along with other members of the executive committee.
“AMMA has decided to disperse the executive committee on moral grounds in the light of allegations made by some actors against some of the committee members. A new committee will be formed after an election within two months,” the association said in a release.
“We hope that a leadership capable of revamping and strengthening the association will take over soon. Thankful to everyone for pointing out our errors,” the statement further read.
Actors Jagadish, Jayan Cherthala, Baburaj, Kalabhavan Shajon, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Joy Mathew, Suresh Krishna, Tini Tom, Ananya, Vinu Mohan, Tovino Thomas, Sarayu, Ansiba and Jomol were part of the previous executive committee, which has now been dissolved.
On Sunday, actor Siddique resigned as general secretary following the sexual misconduct allegations against him by actor Revathy Sampath.
According to sources, there was a difference of opinion in AMMA after the allegations against Siddique and his subsequent resignation.
In their WhatsApp group, there were opinions that the association needed to take a proper stand on the Hema Committee report and the allegations that followed.
The association also feared that there could be more allegations against other members, sources said. Meanwhile, some members said they would make public statements.
Shwetha Menon expresses shock
Meanwhile, actor Shwetha Menon said it was very sad that the executive committee was dissolved.
“I’m in shock, it’s sad that Mohanal had to face such a situation. There will be more responsibilities for the new executive members. Let the new generation come. I would like to see Prithviraj as the president,” she said.
“Many women are coming out and they are showing their guts, that’s a good thing,” she added.
According to sources, some members stood by actor Jagadeesh to make him the general secretary, who insisted that a decision must be made soon.
Actor Usha Haseena said new-generation actors should come to the top posts of AMMA.
Director Vinayan welcomed the resignation and said new actors should come forward, such as Prithviraj Sukumaran, Parvathy Thiruvothu, or even Urvashi or Jagadeesh.
“It’s a positive decision taken by AMMA. They took a democratic way,” he said.
Following allegations against him, filmmaker Ranjith resigned as the chairman of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy on Sunday.
The Justice Hema committee was formed in 2017 after the alleged abduction and subsequent harassment of a female actor allegedly orchestrated by actor Dileep.
Edited by Muhammed Fazil with inputs from Arjun Ramachandran.
This article was originally published on South First.
