It seems that peace and concord are still a distant dream for the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) as fresh controversies continue to emerge even as the organisation gears up for the elections to its top leadership on August 15. After superstar Mohanlal decided not to contest for presidency again, the race for the top post has heated up, with six renowned actors in the fray.
It may be recalled that the elections were necessitated by the mass resignation of AMMA office bearers, including then-president Mohanlal, in response to the Justice Hema Committee’s findings and multiple allegations of sexual misconduct involving key executive members, such as general secretary Siddique and joint secretary Baburaj, among others. Although reports that emerged last month mentioned that Mohanlal was interested in resuming the presidency, he dropped out of the race eventually.
Now, actor Maala Parvathi, who also served as an IC member in AMMA, has stepped forward, revealing the real reason behind Mohanlal’s decision to quit as the association’s top man. She stated that Mohanlal resigned because Baburaj was hesitant to step down, despite facing sexual assault allegations levelled against him by a junior artiste. Maala too expressed her resentment over the actor-filmmaker’s move.
“Over the years, we have seen how accused persons have been removed from key posts. This has been evident in AMMA since Dileep’s case came to the limelight. Vijay Babu, who was also accused of sexual assault, was asked to resign from the executive committee post. We expect Baburaj to do the same. Mohanlal had to step down since Baburaj was not willing to submit his resignation,” she told Manorama News. However, actors Ansiba and Saryu, who were members of the resigned governing body, stated that there was nothing wrong with Baburaj contesting, noting that this happens even in mainstream politics.
Meanwhile, Maala Parvathi also tore into senior actor Jagadish, who is contesting for the post of president now. “Jagadish has a great deal of support from the general public. This is because he came forward to criticise AMMA when an issue arose, which gave him a ‘hero image’. However, the members within AMMA have a different opinion. When the issue concerning Siddique sir came up, these members were ready to hold a press conference. But Jagadish advised against meeting the media at that time. The members, who had great faith in Jagadish’s sharp intellect, decided to follow his words. But two days later, he dealt them a heavy blow by asking in public, ‘Don’t they have a voice? Can’t they speak for themselves?’ That’s how the entire situation spiralled into a crisis. It is my understanding that a large faction of AMMA, who are aware of this, are now campaigning against Jagadish,” she pointed out.
Those running for the post of AMMA president are actors Jagadish, Shweta Menon, Raveendran, Devan, Anoop Chandran, and Jayan Cherthala. Although actor-director Joy Mathew had also submitted a nomination, his papers were rejected owing to a missing signature. Nonetheless, he has submitted a nomination to the executive committee. The post of general secretary is witnessing competition between Baburaj, Raveendran, Anoop Chandran, and Jayan Cherthala, while Vinu Mohan, Tini Tom, Jayan Cherthala, Anoop Chandran, Kukku Parameswaran, Raveendran, and Sai Krishna are in the fray for the treasurer’s chair. Those contesting for the position of vice president are Jayan Cherthala, Raveendran, Lakshmi Priya, Nasser Latheef and Unni Shivapal.
