Justice Hema Committee report fallout: Mohanlal, others resign from actors association amid uproar

Kochi: Top actor Mohanlal and other office-bearers of an influential cine artists' association in Kerala resigned enmasse on Tuesday amidst an uproar over the sexual abuse allegations made against a number of male professionals by women actors over the past few days.

Many women actors, including a Bengali actress, have gone public with allegations of sexual harassment against some of the well-known faces of Malayalam cinema, including eminent director Ranjith and actors Siddique and Mukesh, in the wake of the Justice K Hema Committee report that shed light on workplace harassment in the Malayalam film world.

On Tuesday, the influential actors' union -- Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) issued a press statement announcing the mass resignation of its office-bearers, including president Mohanlal.

The veteran actor, in his capacity as president, reportedly convened an online meeting of its members to discuss the unprecedented dilemma being faced by the association before taking the decision about the resignation of the executive panel members.

AMMA said that the current administrative panel has resigned as such, taking moral responsibility for the allegations.

Following the release of the Justice Hema Committee report, some office-bearers of the AMMA, including actor Siddique who quit as its general secretary, had to face sexual allegations in the social, visual, and print media. And in view of that, the present executive panel was resigning, taking moral responsibility, it explained.

The new administrative panel would be elected within two months after convening a general body meeting, it said, adding that the outgoing panel would continue as a temporary system to carry forward the association's various ongoing programmes without fail until the next general body meeting, it said.

"We are hopeful that AMMA will get a new leadership capable of reforming and strengthening the association. Thanks to everyone for criticising and correcting (us)," the statement added.

Many actors, especially women, welcomed and expressed joy over the resignation of AMMA office-bearers.

Well-known actor Shwetha Menon said she welcomed the executive panel's decision and wished that the outfit would get new leaders who are capable of continuing its various ongoing programmes.

She said a young actor like Prithviraj has the ability to lead the association. "I feel Raju (Prithviraj) as a president in the future. I think he has the capability... calibre for the same," she told the media.

Menon also said she felt sad seeing a great actor like Mohanlal facing this much stress over the developments. Another senior actor, Usha, said AMMA as an outfit was really good, but some of its members on its executive panel were troublemakers.

"A new panel, which can address the concerns of women and to whom female actors could courageously approach and open up about their issues, should come to the top positions in the outfit," she said.

Senior dubbing artiste Bhagyalakshmi also welcomed the resignation of the AMMA panel and said it was their responsibility in the wake of sexual allegations and accusations that cropped up against its members.

Well-known director-actor Joy Mathew said the resignation of the AMMA's executive panel was a message to society. When certain people of an organisation are accused on an issue, it will not be resolved with the resignation of those particular individuals alone.

"Here the executive panel itself has lost its image. In that circumstance, there is no meaning in the continuation of that committee. So, the resignation of AMMA's executive panel is a good example," Mathew told reporters here.

Actor Jayan Cherthala, who was serving as the vice president of the organisation, said an ad-hoc committee would lead the organisation in the next two months until a new panel is selected after convening a general body meeting.

However, Anoop Chandran, another AMMA member, voiced against the mass resignation of the executive panel. While speaking to reporters here, he said he could not understand the reason behind the resignation of the entire panel instead of removing the accused persons alone.

The publication of the Justice K Hema Committee report on harassment and abuse in the Malayalam film industry has opened a can of worms with several female actors stepping forward with disturbing accounts of the mistreatment they faced at the hands of their various male counterparts.

Amid these allegations, the government announced the establishment of a seven-member special investigation team to probe the allegations made in the wake of the Justice Hema Committee report being published.

Following that, more complaints surfaced against many actors and directors.

Inputs from PTI