Mohanlal refuses to contest if elections held for AMMA, to be president again after resigning during Hema Committee

A general body meeting by AMMA is being held in Kochi on Sunday. The ad hoc committee is reportedly pushing for Mohanlal to be president again.

The Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) is holding a general body meeting on Sunday. According to an Asianet report, Mohanlal, who was the president of AMMA, refused to contest if elections were held to fill positions, even as the ad hoc committee is pushing for him to continue his term.

Mohanlal stepped down as president of AMMA after the release of Hema Committee report last year. (PTI)

Mohanlal likely to continue as AMMA president

A general body meeting is being held in Kochi on Sunday to decide the association's fate. This comes after Mohanlal reportedly told the association he wouldn’t contest if they held fresh elections to fill the posts. In the last general body meeting held on 31 May, the ad hoc committee had pushed for Mohanlal to continue his term as president. 

An ad hoc body with Mohanlal at the helm was constituted to manage the association's affairs. The report states that it’s likely that no elections will be held and that the committee will continue without voting. Mohanlal will continue as president; he had resigned in August last year in the aftermath of the Hema Committee report. The governing body was dissolved after his resignation. 

Siddique, who was the general secretary, resigned after he was accused of sexual assault by several women. Unni Mukundan stepped down as treasurer in January this year, citing work commitments and mental health. The report states that Baburaj will now most likely be the general secretary, and another star will replace Unni as treasurer. 

The Hema Committee report

A redacted version of the Hema Committee report was published last year, which rocked the Malayalam film industry. It detailed sexual, physical and mental abuse faced by women in the film industry, apart from exploitation of those in vulnerable positions at large. 

Earlier this month, Parvathy Thiruvothu called out the Kerala government for not implementing any steps to make the film industry a safe space to work. She wrote, “Now can we focus on the ACTUAL reason this committee was formed? Putting policies in place to help make regulations in the industry? What is happening with that? No rush, eh? It’s only been five and a half years since the report was submitted.”