Actor Siddique, who serves as the secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA), came forward to defend its president Mohanlal, after three actresses from the outfit along with other members of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) made seemingly ‘derogatory’ remarks against the superstar in a press meet organised yesterday. He said it was his duty as an office bearer of the association to present the truth behind the accusations made by the actresses.
Terming the actresses’ claim silly when they complained that Mohanlal belittled them by referring to them as merely ‘actresses’, Siddique started off by describing the various philanthropic works being undertaken by the organisation.
Being an outfit that functions according to a written framework, he said expelling the accused, actor Dileep – the main demand put forth by the actresses – was not possible as the general body comprising over 450 members had overturned the executive committee’s initial decision to do so. It had decided to give the benefit of the doubt to Dileep in the actress assault case.
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The actresses had demanded the withdrawal of this decision. After biding time to consult with the legal experts, the executive committee arrived at the conclusion that it did not have the capacity to overturn a decision made by the general body. Instead, Dileep had tendered his resignation to Mohanlal on the 10th of last month, said Siddique.
Stopping Dileep from working in movies would amount to denying his right to work. Quoting the examples of Akshay Kumar and Aamir Khan, Siddique said it was wrong on their part to stop working with people merely based on allegations.
Meanwhile, actor Jagadeesh through a press release had said that the organisation would soon convene a general body meeting. Siddique, who was yet to see this, rubbished the statement saying no one had deputed Jagadish to issue official statements.
On Saturday, the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), at a press meet held in Kochi, hit out against AMMA (Association Of Malayalam Movie Artistes) for favouring Dileep, the accused in a sexual violence case, over the survivor. “The accused is still a part of the organisation as a member while we, who stood with the survivor and the survivor herself, are outside, fighting. He has not been suspended and he hasn’t resigned yet. AMMA’s leadership is hiding behind the bylaws that they created,” they said.
Image courtesy: Indian Express