Malayalam film industry sees shakeup as Mohanlal quits powerful actors' body

Thiruvananthapuram/Kochi/Thrissur: The Malayalam film industry, long hailed for its artistic prowess, was shaken to its core on Tuesday as Mohanlal, the celebrated actor and president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (A.M.M.A), resigned alongside other top officials amid fierce backlash over some of its members facing sexual abuse allegations.

The day also saw the Congress and the BJP stepping up their demands for actor-politician Mukesh's resignation as CPI(M) MLA, citing the gravity of the accusations against him.

Meanwhile, Malayalam superstar and Union Minister Suresh Gopi faced criticism from within his own party, the BJP, for his perceived defence of Mukesh, who faces similar abuse allegations, as well as for allegedly manhandling media personnel in his constituency, Thrissur, on Tuesday.

The mass resignation of Mohanlal and other office-bearers of AMMA comes as the Kerala film industry grapples with revelations by some female actors who have narrated their traumatic experiences through the media, following the disturbing findings of the Hema Committee report, which exposed widespread atrocities against women in the Malayalam film industry.

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.

On Tuesday, A.M.M.A, the influential actors' union, issued a press statement announcing the mass resignation of its office-bearers, including its president Mohanlal.

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

A.M.M.A 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, allegations of sexual assault and harassment came out on social, visual and print media against some office-bearers of A.M.M.A, including actor Siddique who quit as its general secretary.

The present executive panel was resigning taking moral responsibility in view of these allegations against some office-bearers, A.M.M.A explained.

A new administrative panel will be elected within two months after convening a general body meeting, it said, adding that the outgoing panel will continue temporarily to carry forward the association's various ongoing programmes without hindrances until the next general body meeting.

Earlier in the day, Suresh Gopi accused the media of misleading public perception about the film industry with regard to the allegations of sexual harassment against actors and directors snowballing into a controversy. The state BJP leadership disagreed with his stand.

Gopi, when asked about the allegations against actor and CPI(M) MLA Mukesh, said the issue was before court and it would take a decision.

"You (media) are not only making people fight each other for your own gains, you are also misleading public perception. The complaints are in the form of allegations at the moment. What are you telling people? Are you the court? You are not. The court will decide. Let the court decide," Gopi told reporters in Thrissur.

Following that, state BJP president K Surendran said that while Gopi, as an actor and a minister, was entitled to his personal opinion, the party stand is that Mukesh should resign.

"Party (stand) is what the party leadership decides," he said, while speaking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.

When reporters sought to get Gopi's comments regarding what Surendran said, the actor angrily pushed some of them away, according to visuals aired on TV channels.

According to the visuals, some of the reporters approached Gopi as he was trying to get into his official vehicle and he pushed them away saying, "What is this? My way is my right. Please." The Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) condemned the union minister's action and sought an apology from him.

While reacting to queries from the reporters in the morning, Gopi termed the allegations as "food" for the media and said they were welcome to "make money out of it".

"This is all food for you, is what I understand. You can use it to make money. (There is) no problem with that. But these issues are before the court, and it has the intelligence and logic to arrive at a decision regarding them," the Union Minister of State for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Tourism said.

Meanwhile, the Congress and BJP on Tuesday stepped up their demand for Mukesh's resignation as MLA, but the CPI(M) legislator termed the allegations the "same political drama that was enacted back in 2018".

Mukesh said that a proper and transparent investigation is necessary to reveal the truth behind the allegations, and claimed that a group has been trying to blackmail him for money and they are the ones making the allegations. He added that strong legal action would be taken against them.

Meanwhile, Kerala police have said that the cases registered on the basis of the recent allegations will be handed over to the special team constituted for investigating the accusations by women in the film industry.