The recent resignation of the entire administrative committee of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), including its president Mohanlal, has come in the wake of shocking revelations from the Hema Committee Report. The report, which exposed severe issues of sexual harassment and gender inequality in the Malayalam film industry, has led to a wave of controversy. It detailed widespread exploitation and unsafe working conditions for women, sparking intense criticism and demands for accountability. The mass resignation of AMMA's executive committee, amidst these serious allegations, has stirred significant debate and raised questions about the industry's commitment to addressing these critical issues.
BollywoodLife spoke to Senior Journalist Latha Srinivasan, who has extensively covered the South Indian film industry among other fields, and we asked for her insights on everything that's going on. When asked if the release of the Hema Committee report marks the beginning of a significant #MeToo movement in the Malayalam film industry, Latha said, "I believe the importance of the Hema Committee report stems from the rape and assault of an actress in the Malayalam film industry in 2017. The report was completed in 2019. Of course, a troubling aspect is that the Kerala government delayed the release of the report for five years due to concerns about the potential backlash and controversy it could spark. So that itself, in a way, was a negative factor. But now that the report is released again, the onus seems to have fallen on the victims, because the government has clearly said, the women, the actresses who've been assaulted or who want to make a complaint, have to go to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) and make a complaint, and then there will be an investigation, and it will take off from there. So the government has clearly washed its hands of this entire report or the actions that they could have taken to protect women or to put in place regulations for the film industry."
Mohanlal, the president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) committee, resigned from his position a few days after the release of the Hema Committee report. Following the expos , we witnessed a mass resignation from the committee members. Many people were shocked by Mohanlal's complete silence and lack of statement, especially considering that several committee members, including actor Siddiqui and Baburaj, were also accused. Journalist Latha Srinivasan has highlighted that the onus now shifts back to the women to prove their mistreatment.
Latha stated, "Now, the second aspect is that you see the AMMA Committee, which serves as a representative of the Malayalam film industry. It includes Mohanlal as the president and the remaining committee members, all of whom resigned collectively. It is again a problem because they are the ones in authority who could have made rules and regulations and put in place procedures that would have helped women working in the Malayalam film industry. They have all resigned, washing their hands off this entire issue. So what happens now? That's the big question. What happens now is the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), which was also very important and formed in 2017 by a group of women from the Malayalam industry and includes women like Remya Nambeesan, Rima Kallingal, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Sajitha Madathil, and so many others. The onus of this falls again on the women in the film industry to fight for their rights, because the government is not going to do anything. So who is going to take action again? The onus is on women and the victims, and that is a very sad situation. So how much will things change? That's a big question. And right now, the way allegations and counter allegations are being made, I am not sure how much is really going to change in the years to come."
WCC founder and actress Parvathy Thiruvothu has slammed Mohanlal and other AMMA committee members for mass resignation and called their move cowardly. The actress said how this puts the burden on women to continue the conversation of taking action against the accused actors and ensuring safety for women. When asked about her thoughts on the same, Srinivasan shared, "Ultimately, when you are in the position where Mohanlal is the president of AMMA... you have committee members who themselves have been accused of sexual harassment... You have Jayasurya (being accused). So suddenly, when names within the committee itself are cropping up, I think, defending their male colleagues whom they've worked with... any Malayalam film industry men reportedly know what's going on. I don't think they'll want to raise their voice, point fingers at their own colleagues, and get into another controversy. That is why Parvati called it cowardly. I would say that it's more irresponsible. They don't want to be held accountable. They don't want to take any part, so fingers aren't pointed at them because the media will question you if you are in a position of authority. Now that there are no individuals (in the committee), nobody can question them, right?"
