Disenchantment is rising among the Malayalam Film industry over the reinstatement of actor Dileep in the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes’ (AMMA.) Dileep is accused of abducting and sexually assaulting a prominent woman actor in February 2017.
Image Courtesy: The News Minute
Thiruvananthapuram: Disenchantment is rising among the Malayalam Film industry over the reinstatement of actor Dileep in the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes’ (AMMA.) Dileep is accused of abducting and sexually assaulting a prominent woman actor in February 2017.
“In a letter to AMMA General Secretary Edavala Babu, KFI and FIRE expressed their disappointment with AMMA, and asked the association to revoke Dileep’s reinstatement till he is cleared of all charges, “and uphold the moral compasses that our film industries at their best possess.” The letter has 50 signatories including actors Chetan, Sruthi Hariharan, Shraddha Srinath, Diganth, Meghana Gaonkar, actor-directors Rakshit Shetty and Prakash Rai, directors Kavitha Lankesh, Roopa Iyer and Pannaga Bharana, among others,” The News Minute reported.
The Network of Women in Media India (NWMI) also condemned AMMA’s decision. “The decision to reinstate the accused has been taken without consulting the members of AMMA, particularly the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) of which the survivor is a member. The survivor and three other members resigned from AMMA on June 27, in protest,” it said in a release.
“It is with dismay that we note that within a week of Padmashri Mohanlal taking over as the president of AMMA, Dileep was hastily re-admitted to the organisation. The National Award-winning actor has also been bestowed with the honorary title of lieutenant colonel and it is unbecoming that the organisation should take such an insensitive decision under his leadership,” it said.
It added, “Dileep, alleged to be the conspirator of the abduction and molestation of a colleague, is more than only the seventh accused in the actor-molestation case. He is actor, producer, distributor and movie-house owner and has been in the steering committees of all these guilds. The woman who survived the sexual assault, had earlier complained to AMMA that this powerful man from the industry had been influencing producers to avoid casting her. Instead of supporting her, AMMA jumped at the chance to re-instate Dileep’s membership, unabashedly revealing its oligarchic and patriarchal beliefs.”
“Earlier this week, four women from the Women in Cinema Collective – Rima Kallingal, Ramya Nambessan, Geetu Mohandas and the survivor – resigned from AMMA soon after it reinstated Dileep. Following this, three other WCC members, Parvathy, Padmapriya, and Revathy, submitted a letter to AMMA, questioning its decision and calling for an emergency executive meeting. Fifteen WCC members also issued a statement explaining why they had never become part of AMMA,” TNM reported.
“In a Facebook post, the actresses, including Amala Akkineni, Archana Padmini, Divyaprabha, Sajitha Madathil and Jolly Chirayath, wrote: “It has been a year since the WCC was formed by women from various facets of the Malayalam film industry and we decided to become members as we knew the issues of women will be addressed by WCC. “We decided not to take membership in AMMA because when there is no pay parity between males and females in the industry, all have to pay an entry membership fee of Rs 1 lakh which is not justified. It has become difficult to believe the organisation given their stand towards the victim in the actress kidnap case… besides it’s tough to go forward with any sort of meaningful discussion on women issues.” The actresses said that after realising that there is nothing positive in the horizon, “as no meaningful discussion can take place because it’s caught between certain groups, fans associations and it fails to have a humane approach towards issues concerning women, we are unable to take membership in AMMA,” News18 reported.
Malayalam movie superstar Mohanlal, who is also the president of AMMA, justified the reinstatement. “We strongly believe that the organisation AMMA has existed all this while, having realised the true essence of the word. I’m writing this note with immense pain, that AMMA has been at the receiving end of unfair criticism through the media,” TNM reported.