The Association of Malayalam Movie Artists will hold a general body meeting to discuss various concerns of its female members, including the controversy surrounding its decision to reinstate actor Dileep, who has been accused of planning the sexual assault of a Malayalam actress, The New Indian Express reported.
The meeting was planned after a discussion on Tuesday in Kochi with actresses Parvathy, Revathy and Padmapriya, who are members of the guild for Malayalam film industry members as well as the Women in Cinema Collective, which was formed after the attack on the actress last February. Dileep was ousted from AMMA in July 2017 after his arrest in the case. The decision to bring him back was taken at a meeting on June 24, but Dileep has turned down the invitation for now.
AMMA’s decision to reinstate Dileep had garnered garnered criticism from several quarters. Four members of the Women in Cinema Collective – Rima Kallingal, Geetu Mohandas, Remya Nambeessan and the assault survivor – had resigned from AMMA in protest. Separately, Parvathy, Revathy and Padmapriya, had called for an emergency meeting with AMMA’s executive council.
At Tuesday’s discussion, AMMA President Mohanlal called for more professionalism in the guild. “Our plan is to form a disciplinary committee which will have representatives of legal experts including retired judges,” he reportedly said.
Mohanlal also asserted that he would not step down as president of AMMA despite the recent criticism, and rumours of a rift in the organisation. “I don’t want to resign. Without quitting, I want to run this smoothly with everyone’s support,” The News Minute quoted the actor as saying.
Revathy reportedly said that the meeting had yielded healthy discussions. She asserted that the three actresses attended the meeting as AMMA members and not as members from the Women in Cinema Collective.