The Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) has been given a third letter by actors Revathy, Padmapriya and Parvathy, who have given the association a final date before which a decision has to be made on whether actor Dileep – who is accused of masterminding the abduction and sexual harassment of his female colleague from the industry – will continue to be a member or not.
The letter, which was written by Revathy on behalf of the other two actors too, has stated that AMMA must come up with a final decision regarding their stand on Dileep before October 9, i.e., Tuesday. The main objective stated in the letter was that till the court comes out with a verdict regarding the actor, AMMA should suspend DIleep from the body. The three actors are part of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), which has appealed strongly against AMMA reinstating Dileep.
Details about various other cases in which members of an organisation were terminated from the body when they were on trial was also added in the letter.
The three actors had previously sent two letters regarding the issue on September 13 and 17 respectively. According to Asianet news, the film body did not respond to the first two letters that were sent by the three actors.
In a meeting held on August 7 between the executive committee of AMMA and the three actors, the film body had asked for some more time to decide on Dileep. The executive committee wanted 21 days to seek legal counsel on whether they could take a decision to terminate Dileep’s membership, or if the general body had to conduct a vote.
Due to the devastating floods that hit the state in August, they couldn’t conduct another meeting.
However, actor Mohanlal, who is also the president of AMMA, told media persons on Saturday that the body has received legal advice but refused to elaborate on it.
The meeting, held in Hotel Crowne Plaza in Kochi on August 7, was called for by Revathy, Padma Priya, and Parvathy after the film body reinstated Dileep, who is still under trial. Following the move, four members of AMMA, Rima Kallingal, Geetu Mohandas, Remya Nambeessan, and the survivor, resigned from the body.
After a discussion that went on for over two hours, AMMA members told the press that they are considering changing the bye-laws and setting up a disciplinary committee.
"We were not very serious as an organisation for the longest time because nothing warranted it. But now, we have decided to make it more professional. We have considered all their issues and we know that these are weighty issues. We will have a general body meeting following this executive meeting. They will be given a platform to express everything. We still have a lot of issues to discuss," said the AMMA representatives.