Mohanlal Steps Down as AMMA President Amid Sexual Assault Allegations, Executive Committee Dissolved
Actor Mohanlal resigned as president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) on Tuesday, leading to the dissolution of the influential actors’ body’s executive committee. The decision follows mounting criticism over the committee’s inaction regarding the Justice Hema committee report, which highlighted systemic sexual abuse and power imbalances within the Malayalam film industry.
The resignation of Mohanlal and the dissolution of the executive committee were triggered by sexual assault allegations against key members, including Siddique, who served as general secretary, and Baburaj, the joint secretary. While Siddique resigned from his post on Sunday after a female actor accused him of sexual assault, Baburaj, despite facing similar allegations from a junior actor, continued to deny the accusations and held onto his position.
The Justice Hema committee report, which had recently come under the spotlight, accused AMMA of failing to address widespread sexual harassment and the presence of a powerful clique that dominated the industry, often at the expense of junior actors. Siddique, prior to his resignation, downplayed the severity of the issue, denying the existence of a “casting couch” and referring to the incidents as isolated cases.
The mass resignations and dissolution came in the wake of leading actor Prithviraj Sukumaran’s admission of AMMA’s lapses in handling the report. AMMA announced that a new executive committee would be elected within the next two months.
