The executive committee of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) was on Tuesday (August 27, 2024) dissolved amid growing allegations of sexual assault and misbehaviour raised by women against its members.
All the 17 members of the committee, including president and senior actor Mohanlal, have submitted their resignation after an emergency online meeting of the actors’ body decided that the committee should be disbanded as allegations of sexual abuse and misbehaviour have been raised against its members, including the office-bearers. The new executive committee was elected in June 2024 and it had a tenure up to 2027.
Actor Joy Mathew told The Hindu that the committee decided unanimously to resign following serious allegations of sexual harassment levelled against members, including those in the executive committee. But the existing committee will continue as an ad hoc arrangement to ensure that AMMA’s welfare measures for its members are not disrupted.
Actor Siddique, who was general secretary of the association, had resigned on Sunday following allegations of sexual assault levelled by actress Revathy Sampath. The committee decided to step down owning moral responsibility for the developments that emerged after the release of the K. Hema Committee report that probed the problems faced by women in the Malayalam film industry.
There were rumblings of discontent within the association as a few actors, including Prithviraj had demanded that those who were facing allegations of sexual assault must step down from their posts.
A new executive committee is expected to be formed within two months after convening a general body election. The daily affairs of the association will be managed by an ad-hoc committee.
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Besides Mohanlal, those who submitted the resignations included actors Jagadish and R. Jayan (vice-presidents). Actors Unni Mukundan and Baburaj were the treasurer and joint secretary respectively and the executive committee members included actors Kalabhavan Shajon, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Joy Mathew, Suresh Krishna, Tini Tom, Ananya, Vinu Mohan, Tovino Thomas, Sarayu Mohan and Anseeba.
(with inputs from Thiruvananthapuram bureau)
