Four actresses including Bhavana quit male-dominated AMMA after Dileep’s reinstatement

Newsroom, Jun 27: In a major embarrassment for Malayalam film industry, four prominent actresses including the one who was abducted and sexually assaulted, have resigned from the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA), in protest against the organisation’s decision to reinstate actor Dileep.

The four actresses who took a bold decision are Bhavana, Rima Kallingal, Ramya Nambeesan and Geetu Mohandas. All of them are members of Women in Cinema Collective (WCC).

Dileep was ousted from AMMA last year after he was named as an accused in the abduction and sexual assault case. However, last Sunday, a general body meeting of AMMA, under the newly-elected president Mohanlal, had taken the decision to reinstate Dileep.

Bhavana, who acted in most of the south Indian languages, in her statement, said that she did not find any meaning in continuing in AMMA which never stood with her, even when she raised complaints in the past.

“I am resigning not just because the accused actor (Dileep) has been taken back into AMMA. Even before, this actor had scuttled many of my acting opportunities. When I complained against this, AMMA had taken no action. Now, when such an unfortunate incident happened in my life, the organisation again tried to protect the accused. I resign from the organisation having understood that there is no purpose in being part of it,” said the statement.

The other WCC members, in a common statement on their Facebook page, said that AMMA has proven whose side it was on, by taking back Dileep.

“The AMMA has, since its formation in 1995, not taken any attempt to bring about a women-friendly workplace in the industry. When the WCC made attempts in this direction, it was met with the muscle power of the fans associations and crass humour. The organisation did not think about the survivor, its own member, when deciding to take back the accused. Hope our resignation will be a reason for AMMA to correct its wrong decisions,” said the statement.