The protest against the decision by the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) to reinstate actor Dileep, who is an accused in the abduction and rape of an actor, reached the streets with activists burning the effigy of actor Mohanlal.
The veteran actor is also the President of AMMA.
According to reports by Manoramaonline, the All India Youth federation (AIYF), affiliated to the Communist Party of India (CPI) on Thursday staged a protest march in front of the Film Chamber of Commerce in Ernakulam where they burnt the effigy of Mohanlal.
AIYF has lashed out at AMMA and demanded that its office bearers apologise to the public for reinstating actor Dileep, who is facing trial for being the mastermind behind the assault of an actor in February 2017.
It was also reported that the Mahila Congress, the women’s wing of the Congress party, organized a march in Alapuzha to protest against the decision of AMMA to reinstate the actor.
Speaking to reporters, Mahila Congress state president, Lathika Subhash, termed this decision by AMMA as ‘anti-woman’.
These protests come after various journalists, activists and politicians came down heavily on AMMA for their decision to reinstate the actor.
On June 27, several core members of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) resigned from AMMA.
The first to resign from the film body was the survivor, who was brutally assaulted in February 2017.
In a personal note, the survivor said, "Prior to this, this actor has snatched away opportunities of acting from me. When I had complained at that time, AMMA did not act seriously on my complaint. And when such a terrible incident happened, an organisation that I am also a part of, tried to protect the man who has been accused of the crime. Realising that there is no purpose in being a part of such an organisation, I hereby resign."
The WCC, which was formed soon after the attack, has several prominent women from the film industry. Others who stepped down from AMMA are actors Rima Kallingal, Remya Nambeeshan and director Geetu Mohandas.