Senior figures in the Malayalam film industry, including prominent actors and directors, are now facing sexual abuse allegations following the recent public release of the Justice Hema Committee report.
Thiruvananthapuram: Mohanlal has stepped down as President of the Association of Malayalam Movie Actors (AMMA) amid a surge of sexual assault and rape allegations against prominent figures in the Malayalam film industry, including veteran actor Siddique and filmmaker Ranjith Balakrishnan.
The entire executive committee of AMMA has also resigned. The organization issued a statement saying the committee took “moral responsibility” and decided to dissolve itself in response to the allegations against some of its members.
AMMA announced that new elections for a reformed committee will be held within two months.
The allegations come in the wake of the Justice Hema Committee report, which was released publicly last week. The report, detailing multiple shocking abuse stories, had been submitted to the Kerala government in 2019 but was not disclosed until now after overcoming legal challenges from industry members.
Several women have reported abuse by leading Malayalam actors and filmmakers. One such case involves actor Baburaj, the former AMMA Joint Secretary, who is accused of raping a junior artist in 2019 under the pretense of offering her a film role. He denies the allegations, suggesting they are an attempt to undermine his bid for the position of General Secretary of AMMA.
Siddique, who resigned last week over a separate sexual assault claim, has filed a police complaint against his accuser, Revathy Sampath, who has alleged both physical and mental abuse.
Additionally, actor Minu Muneer has accused prominent actors M Mukesh and Jayasurya, among others, of physical and verbal abuse during the filming of a movie in 2013. Muneer described an incident where Jayasurya allegedly hugged and kissed her without consent, leading her to flee the scene.
Maniyanpilla Raju, one of the individuals accused by Muneer, has called for an investigation, alleging that the accusations may be driven by ulterior motives.
In response to the crisis, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has announced a seven-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate all sexual assault allegations. This development has also sparked a wave of political criticism from opposition parties, including the BJP and the Congress-led United Democratic Front.
