The Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) is set to meet three members of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) at a crucial executive committee meeting on Tuesday. Though AMMA was scheduled to meet actors Revathy, Parvathy and Padmapriya, Parvathy was on a US tour and was scheduled to reach India only in the second week of August. But Parvathy has cut short her trip and will land at the Kochi airport on Tuesday morning.
The trio will confront AMMA on the lack of support to the woman actor who was assaulted in February 2017. They will also question the backing that accused actor Dileep got from AMMA members unofficially and from the organisation itself.
The members will also raise their opposition to the misogynistic skit that was performed by women members of AMMA with Mammootty and Mohanlal during AMMA’s flagship event called ‘Amma Mazhavillu.’ The skit had denigrated WCC and taken a dig at ‘their feminism.’
The three actors had resigned on June 28, two days after Dileep was reinstated into AMMA. In a strongly worded letter to AMMA, they had asked the organisation to call for an emergency executive body meeting to address their concerns.
They had put forward four questions:
1. The expelled member's reinstatement and the implications of AMMA's decision.
2. The steps taken by AMMA to support the survivor.
3. How AMMA’s bye-laws are structured to ensure the welfare of all its members.
4. What AMMA can do to make women feel more included and safer.
The meeting will take place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Kochi at 4 pm on Tuesday. After meeting WCC members, the AMMA executive committee will also meet actors Joy Mathew and Shammi Thilakan.
Both these actors had opposed AMMA’s decision to take back Dileep and posed questions on the workings of the organisation. Tuesday's meeting will be crucial for Mohanlal as Malayalam cinema watchers and others are waiting to see what stand he will take.