Mohanlal Steps Down As AMMA President Amid MeToo Outrage

Mohanlal resigns as chief of AMMA amid MeToo outrage

Following an avalanche of sexual assault and rape charges against some of Mollywood’s (Malayalam Cinema) top celebrities, including veteran actor Siddique and filmmaker Ranjith Balakrishnan, actor Mohanlal has resigned as President of the embattled Association of Malayalam Movie Actors, or AMMA. All members of the film body’s executive committee have also submitted their resignations. According to an AMMA statement, the highest decision-making body accepted moral responsibility and dissolved itself in light of allegations made by some actors against some of the committee.

Mohanlal Resigns As President Of AMMA

After the resignation of Mohanlal as the President of the Association of Malayalam Movie Actors, an election to build a new committee will be held in two months. Senior personalities from the Malayalam film industry have faced sexual abuse complaints after the public release of the Justice Hemma Committee Report last week. The report included several shocking stories of abuse and was submitted to the Kerala Government in 2019 which was buried back then. It was recently made public after clearing legal challenges from the members of the film industry.

Heads began tumbling in the Malayalam cinema world on Sunday in the aftermath of the Justice K Hema Committee’s bombshell findings of harassment and abuse of female professionals, resulting in two high-profile resignations over charges of sexual abuse. Amid rising pressure on the government to take action against suspected predators in the film business, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan convened a high-level meeting with senior police officials and decided to form a seven-member special team to examine the crimes committed against female performers.

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On Sunday, new allegations of harassment emerged, exposing more skeletons in the closet. Even an old one, involving actor-politician Mukesh, reemerged. Ranjith, a director, and Siddique, an actor, resigned from leadership positions at a state-run film academy and the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (A.M.M.A), respectively.

According to IE, actor Shammy Thilakan previously addressed the press and criticized Mohanlal for failing to speak up. Shammy spoke with the press about recent occurrences, claiming that Mohanlal had “lost his ability to respond”. Ranjith was under criticism after a Bengali female actor accused him of misbehaviour years ago, but the problem resurfaced after the Hema Committee report was made public. Siddique also resigned as AMMA’s general secretary, citing internal calls for his resignation following a sexual assault charge filed against him by a young actress.

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First Published: August 27, 2024 5:20 PM