These days, the Malayalam film industry is in turmoil due to cases of exploitation of women. A few days ago, the report of the Justice Hema Committee on the problems of women in the industry was released. After this, there was a stir in Malayalam cinema. Women artists associated with the industry came forward and started telling their stories. Meanwhile, all the members of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), an organization of the Malayalam industry, resigned. Malayalam cinema superstar Mohanlal was the president of this association. This was an executive committee of 17 members.
Mohanlal gave a big statement
Mohanlal was silent on the report of Justice Hema Committee and his resignation, for which he is being criticized a lot. However, now he has clarified that he is not running away from giving answers and his reaction on this matter. The actor said, ‘I have come to talk about what is happening in the industry. I will express my views on this. My wife has undergone surgery. Also, due to the promotion of my upcoming film, I was busy and was not able to talk. I am not running away. I have given my statement to the Hema Committee. They asked me questions and I have told them everything I knew.’
The actor further said, ‘I was the president of AMMA for the last two terms. The entire Malayalam industry is responsible for the resignation of the committee members. AMMA cannot answer every question. These questions should be asked to everyone. When such incidents happen, which can destroy the entire industry, we do not know what else to do. We request you not to put all the focus on AMMA. The cases are being investigated. All the statements have been made public. Please do not destroy the industry.’
According to Mohanlal, ‘There is disagreement among the people in the association as well. In such a situation, we are going to take the right action. Elections will be held here soon. This is not for any kind of escape. Please do not put unnecessary allegations on the association. We welcome the Hema Committee report. The government took the right decision by releasing this report. This is a very hardworking industry. A lot of people are associated with it. But everyone cannot be blamed here. Whoever is responsible for this will be punished. Investigations are going on. We cannot change the law for everyone. Those who have committed the crime will be punished.’
People are calling the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) a power group. Talking about this, Mohanlal said, ‘Let the names of the people come out. I don’t know about any power group. I have not read the Hema Committee report. The difficulties faced by junior artists are also being taken into consideration. I will not be able to answer all your questions. First of all, I don’t have the answers. What can I say? There will definitely be an investigation. We cannot fix everything suddenly. Suddenly a lot of names have started coming out. We are helpless here. We will cooperate in the investigation. We are here only to make things better.’
Allegations against AMMA members
Many members of AMMA were also accused of sexual harassment. After the report of the Hema Committee, taking moral responsibility for the allegations of sexual harassment against some members of the governing body, the entire governing body of AMMA has resigned. Actor Idavela Babu is also included in this. An actress had made a big allegation against Idavela Babu. She had said that he had offered her sexual favors in exchange for giving her AMMA membership. Recently, senior Malayalam actor Siddique had resigned from the post of General Secretary of AMMA. He too was accused of sexual harassment by an actress.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)