Kochi: Moments after senior Malayalam actor Siddique resigned from the post of general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), Malayalam director Ranjith on Sunday stepped down as the chairman of the state-run Kerala Chalachitra Academy.
His resignation comes days after a Bengali actress levelled allegations of “inappropriate behaviour” by the filmmaker in an incident years ago.
In an audio clip released to the media, Ranjith said he has sent his resignation letter to the minister of culture Saji Cheriyan and chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the wake of the allegations against him and hoped that the government would accept it.
At the same time, he maintained that he is innocent and that the actress’ allegations are part of lies being propagated against him and the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led government of which is a part.
“I have suffered a lot of personal damage due to such allegations. A portion of what she said is a lie. I have to prove my innocence. That’s why I will move forward by taking legal action. The world must know the truth,” Ranjith said in the audio clip.
He added, “There is an organised attack against the CPM-led government by a section of right-wing people and the media. One of those allegations concerns me. I will never do anything to tarnish the image of this government. It is not right for me to continue as the head of a government institution when I am in the middle of legal measures against the person who levelled allegations against me. That’s why I have sent my resignation letter to the government.”
{{/usCountry}}He added, “There is an organised attack against the CPM-led government by a section of right-wing people and the media. One of those allegations concerns me. I will never do anything to tarnish the image of this government. It is not right for me to continue as the head of a government institution when I am in the middle of legal measures against the person who levelled allegations against me. That’s why I have sent my resignation letter to the government.”
{{/usCountry}}The allegations come in the backdrop of the release of the Hema committee report, which has shed light on the incidents of sexual abuse and harassment against women artists and technicians in the Malayalam film industry.
A prominent Bengali actress had revealed that she faced “inappropriate behaviour” on the part of the well-known Malayalam director and scriptwriter when she came to Kerala in 2009 in connection with the shooting of the film ‘Palerimanikyam’.
The film, starring Mammootty in the lead role, was directed by Ranjith and had won the Kerala state award for best film that year.
The actress alleged that Ranjith touched her inappropriately while standing on the balcony of a hotel room. Even though she was offered a role in the film, she said she dropped the project due to his behaviour and left Kerala the next day.