For the longest time, the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), a group of women in the Malayalam film industry formed in the aftermath of the 2017 abduction and sexual assault of a leading female actor in Kochi, and its members have faced significant witch-hunts and ridicule from industry insiders and fans of male stars for advocating gender equality. The group has frequently clashed with the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), an organisation many WCC members previously belonged to, over the latter’s problematic decisions, especially regarding the membership of actor Dileep, who is accused of orchestrating the 2017 assault.
Now, six years later, AMMA’s leadership has collapsed, with its office bearers, including president Mohanlal, resigning en masse. This development follows the Justice Hema Committee’s findings and numerous sexual misconduct allegations against several male members of AMMA since the release of the panel’s report recently. Soon after the resignation of AMMA’s leadership, WCC said that all have a responsibility to forge a future of justice. “Rethink; reshape; rebuild. We have a shared duty to forge a future of justice and dignity for everyone. Let’s create this new revolution,” the organisation said in a post shared on their official social media accounts.
It is worth recalling that it was WCC that submitted a petition in 2017 to the Kerala Chief Minister, demanding an inquiry into the actress assault case and broader gender issues in the film industry. In response, the government formed a three-member committee headed by retired Kerala High Court judge Justice K Hema. The downfall of AMMA, after many of its members faced sexual misconduct allegations following the Justice Hema Committee report, underscores that the allegations raised by WCC were true; only the extent remains to be seen.
WCC and its members have consistently faced intense trolling and criticism since its inception, but this reached new heights in 2017 when actor Parvathy Thiruvothu rightly called out director Nithin Renji Panicker’s Mammootty-starrer Kasaba as a misogynistic film during an event. The statement sparked a backlash, with the megastar’s diehard fans and male netizens trolling Parvathy mercilessly.
The face-off between WCC and AMMA escalated in June 2018 when actors Rima Kallingal, Remya Nambeesan, Geetu Mohandas and others left AMMA following Dileep’s reinstatement in the association. The survivor of the assault also resigned, while Parvathy, Manju Warrier and Padmapriya chose to stay at that time.
In October 2018, tensions escalated further as WCC alleged that AMMA had not supported the victim, while Dileep received full backing. Senior WCC member and veteran actor Revathy criticised AMMA president Mohanlal for referring to her, Parvathy and Padmapriya merely as “actresses” instead of using their names, despite their prominence. This criticism led to further trolling and attacks from AMMA office-bearers. Actors Siddique, then AMMA’s secretary, and (late) KPAC Lalitha, a general body member, lashed out at the WCC members, insisting that those who left AMMA must apologise before returning. Siddique also defended AMMA’s decision to revoke Dileep’s expulsion.
Mohanlal, for his part, expressed being “hurt” that English and Tamil media portrayed him as the face of WCC’s protests. “Many media houses, not in Malayalam, but in English, Tamil etc made me the face of this. It hurt me,” he said at the time.
In 2020, Parvathy also resigned from AMMA, citing the shocking and vile remarks made by AMMA’s then-general secretary, Edavela Babu, about actor Bhavana. In an interview with a local news channel, Babu was asked whether Bhavana would have a role in the second part of the film Twenty:20 being produced by AMMA. He replied, “Bhavana currently is not a part of AMMA. That’s all I can say. She did a good role in the first part. But we cannot bring back the dead. We can include actors who are part of AMMA.” Babu later claimed he was referring to Bhavana’s character in Twenty:20, who had supposedly ‘died,’ although the movie does not make it clear whether she died.
Now, four years later, the tide has shifted and the situation has changed, proving that WCC was right all along. Those in AMMA who persistently attacked them and took problematic stances are now facing the heat as many survivors have come forward, sharing their traumatic experiences of being violated by men, including senior AMMA members.
A day after a female actor alleged that Siddique had raped her at a young age, he resigned as the general secretary of AMMA on Sunday. It should be recalled that Siddique was one of those who turned hostile in the 2017 actress assault case. While Siddique and actor Bhama initially stated that a dispute had broken out between Dileep and the survivor during a rehearsal for a stage show organized by AMMA, in 2020, they refused to confirm their statement in court, as reported by Mathrubhumi.
Mohanlal’s resignation as AMMA president is also significant, given that WCC had criticised his decision to reinstate Dileep in 2018. Mohanlal had stated that there was no dissent from other actors regarding Dileep’s reinstatement, PTI reported.
However, the mass resignation of Mohanlal and other AMMA office-bearers, without addressing the Justice Hema Committee’s findings or the allegations against many members, is being viewed by many as a form of escapism. “In light of allegations made by some actors against some of the committee members, AMMA has decided to dissolve the executive committee taking moral responsibility. A new committee will be formed within two months after an election. We hope that a leadership that is capable of revamping and strengthening the association will take over soon. We are thankful to everyone for pointing out our errors,” AMMA’s executive committee said in a statement announcing its dissolution.
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