Mohanlal, President of Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes, has said that he asked Dileep to tender his resignation. His decision has been accepted by the general body, Mohanlal told reporters in Kochi.
“AMMA didn’t want to delay the matters further. I called Dileep and asked him to resign from the actors’ body,” said Lal at the meet. According to a report in The Indian Express, Mohanlal said that the big problem when he took charge was around Dileep, who was accused of masterminding the sexual assault of a south Indian actress in 2017. Dileep was arrested later that year. When Mohanlal took charge as President in 2018, Dileep was reinstated.
Mohanlal confirmed that Women In Cinema Collective met him to discuss the reinstatement. “WCC told us that we should have a clear stand about this. When WCC came to talk to us, we asked them for some time. We wanted time to call the General Body, but then the situation in Kerala changed. They had also spoken to us about taking back the members who resigned. We did not know how to deal with it.”
Mohanlal also revealed that WCC members had discussed with him the possibility of taking back members who had resigned in light of Dileep’s reinstatement.
“Malayalam actors have formed AMMA as a charity organisation, we are sad about how things have taken such a sad turn. If someone who resigned from AMMA asks for reinstatement, then s/he should submit an application to the body. We will decide whether to take him or her later,” added Lal.
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Earlier this week, actors Siddique and Jagadeesh both spoke on behalf of AMMA but voiced contrasting views. While Siddique said that actors Revathy, Padmapriya and Parvathy must apologise to AMMA for them to be reinstated into the association, Jagadeesh said that the actors would be welcomed back if they chose to return. Siddique’s comments drew widespread criticism with many social media memes critical of his views becoming viral.
Interestingly, at the press meet held earlier today, Jagadeesh and Siddique appeared onstage together, in a show of solidarity.