The Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) has decided to not take any action against its general secretary Edavela Babu and lifetime member Bineesh Kodiyeri in an executive committee meeting held on Friday. The body has also accepted actor Parvathy’s resignation, which she submitted in protest against comments made by Edavela Babu on the actor who survived the sexual assault in 2017.
The press release given after the meeting does not mention any action against General Secretary Edavela Babu, who had, in a TV interview, made an uncharitable remark on the actor who survived sexual assault. Edavela Babu had said that AMMA “cannot bring back the dead”, in response to a question on whether the actor who survived sexual assault would be cast in the new AMMA film.
Following this, members Revathy and Padmapriya wrote a letter to the association, asking what AMMA’s leadership thought about its general secretary’s remarks. Actor Parvathy meanwhile had submitted her resignation from AMMA in protest against Edavela Babu’s comments.
In October 2020, a few members of AMMA, which is the body of actors working in Malayalam cinema, had demanded the expulsion of Bineesh, ever since he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in the Bengaluru drug peddaling case.
Bineesh, who is the son of CPI(M) State Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, has been an AMMA member since 2009 and has acted in some films. He was also part of the Celebrity Cricket League in 2012, in which team Kerala Strikers was formed in association with the film body.
“Members of AMMA Executive Committee, mainly Siddique and Jagadeesh (treasurer) had demanded that Bineesh be expelled from the association. However, members KB Ganesh Kumar and Mukesh, who are both actors-turned politicians, opposed this move, stating that Bineesh’s charges were independent of the film body, unlike, Dileep, who was accused of conspiring in the sexual assault of another AMMA member,” a source close to the developments within the body told TNM.
A press release by AMMA has also stated that “it has been decided to ask Bineesh for an explanation regarding the issue".