Thiruvananthapuram:
Actor Mohanlal has resigned as President of the under-fire Affiliation of Malayalam Film Actors, or AMMA, following an avalanche of sexual assault and rape allegations in opposition to a few of Mollywood’s largest names, together with veteran actor Siddique and filmmaker Ranjith Balakrishnan.
All members of the movie physique’s government committee have additionally submitted resignations.
An announcement from AMMA mentioned the highest decision-making physique had taken “ethical accountability” and dissolved itself “in mild of allegations made by some actors in opposition to a number of the committee”.
An election to type a brand new committee shall be held inside two months, AMMA mentioned.
Senior figures within the Malayalam movie trade face sexual abuse complaints following the general public launch of the Justice Hema Committee report final week. The report – which incorporates a number of surprising tales of abuse – was submitted to the Kerala authorities in 2019 however then buried.
It was made public this month after clearing authorized challenges from movie trade members.
EDNBOX has spoken to a number of ladies who’ve complained in opposition to prime Malayalam actors and filmmakers, together with actor Baburaj, who was AMMA Joint Secretary earlier than he too resigned.
READ | “Hoping For Justice…”: Younger Kerala Actor Claims Rape By Actor Baburaj
A junior artiste instructed EDNBOX he raped her at his house in Ernakulam district in 2019, after inviting her there on the pretext of a job in one in every of his movies. He has claimed the allegation is fake, and meant to scupper his probabilities of succeeding fellow thespian Siddique as Common Secretary of the movie physique.
READ | Malayalam Actor Siddique Recordsdata Grievance Over Intercourse Assault Declare
Siddique give up final week over one other sexual assault declare. He has lodged a police grievance in opposition to his accuser, Revathy Sampath, who mentioned she had been “sexually abused… bodily and mentally”.
READ | “Hugged, Kissed Me”: Malayalam Actor To EDNBOX On Sexual Abuse
One other actor, Minu Muneer, has accused outstanding actors M Mukesh and Jayasurya, in addition to two others, of bodily and verbally abusing her on the units of a film in 2013.
“I had a bitter expertise whereas capturing… I went to the restroom and after I got here out, Jayasurya hugged me and kissed me with out my consent. I used to be shocked and I ran out,” she instructed EDNBOX.
Maniyanpilla Raju, a type of accused by Ms Muneer, has known as for an investigation into the allegations, claiming a number of vested pursuits are behind the accusations.
READ | Excessive-Profile Resignations, Political Fallout: What’s Going On In Mollywood
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, below extreme scrutiny, introduced a seven-member SIT to probe all sexual assault fees.
That has not, nevertheless, stopped the predictable avalanche of political assaults from the opposition BJP and the Congress-led United Democratic Entrance.
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