Kochi, July 19
Ever since the explosive Hema Committee report surfaced last year, the affairs in the Malayalam film actors body -- Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) has been fluid.
Things went for a toss after the incumbent Secretary of AMMA -- popular actor Siddique resigned after a former actress pointed fingers at him of misbehaviour.
Soon thereafter names of other actors also surfaced accusing them of similar behaviour.
Seeing all this the AMMA President Mohanlal made it clear that he was not keen to continue, forcing the entire 17-member executive to resign.
Following this, the committee under Mohanlal was asked to continue in the capacity of ad hoc committee until fresh elections are held.
At the recently held annual general body, the decision was made that on August 15 a new executive should be appointed through a democratic process.
Now with the last date of nomination coming up on July 24 and on July 31 it will be known if there is going to be voting.
With around 500 members in AMMA, it's going to be a race against time as hectic parleys have started on the name of candidates who will be going to contest.
With Mammootty now undergoing treatment and Mohanlal has already announced that he is done with anymore posts, the race has begun.
By now factions have also emerged with one section led by State Transport Minister K.B. Ganesh Kumar, who is already controlling the body of Television and Serial actors, he is keen to be a kingmaker in the film actors association too.
Another faction who are keen to make it to the helm includes actor Baburaj who has started to make the vital moves.
While there is another group which wants college professor-turned-actor Jagdeesh to take the lead.
Yet another section is trying to see if a compromise can be reached to avoid an election, but their plans have reached a dead end when veteran actor Vijayaraghavan backed out, so did popular actor Kunchacko Bobban.
Incidentally, the outgoing committee which was elected in 2024 had its term till 2027, but circumstances saw that it had a premature end when Mohanlal expressed his inability to continue.
Many AMMA members now lament that with the passing away of comedian Innocent, who was the President for 15 years till 2018, things have not been the same as he had the knack of running AMMA through his deft handling without hurting the ego of any through his jokes.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Miss Innocent sir's leadership so much 😢 He knew how to keep everyone together with his humor. Now it's all faction fights and dirty politics. AMMA needs someone neutral like Jagdeesh sir - educated and respected by all generations.
Why is KB Ganesh Kumar interfering in film industry matters? First TV actors union, now AMMA? Politicians should stay out of creative fields. This is exactly how nepotism and favoritism starts.
Mohanlal sir did the right thing by stepping down. But now we need strong leadership - not just popular faces. Maybe time for younger actors like Tovino or Nimisha to take responsibility? Fresh perspectives needed!
As an outsider following Malayalam cinema, I'm impressed by how seriously they're taking these issues. In Hollywood, similar allegations often get swept under the rug. Hope the election brings positive change! ✊
The article misses mentioning the real power brokers - the producers' lobby. Whoever wins, they'll still control the purse strings. AMMA elections are just drama for public consumption.
Hope they implement proper HR policies this time. Just having big stars as office bearers isn't enough. Need professional management for grievance redressal
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