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Once a seemingly united fraternity, the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (A.M.M.A.) has splintered after Mohanlal stepped down as president a few months ago, firmly ruling out a return to the post. In his absence, two camps have taken shape — one backing actors Shwetha Menon and Cuckoo Parameswaran for the top posts, and the other against them. What might have been a routine leadership contest has spiralled into a bitter feud, with allegations of a memory card being used to ‘blackmail’ members, claims of bias in a women’s WhatsApp group, and even a bizarre criminal case against one of the women contestants.
The elections were announced months after Mohanlal and other office-bearers resigned in 2024, after several men who held important positions in A.M.M.A. were named as accused in sexual harassment cases. The cases had come in the wake of the release of the Hema Committee report, which documented the rampant sexual harassment and other serious issues plaguing Malayalam cinema. With the mass resignation, A.M.M.A. — a powerful body comprising hundreds of actors — essentially came to a standstill.
When polls were announced in July 2025, there was an informal understanding that women should take the top posts, leading several male candidates to withdraw.
Renowned actor Jagadish, initially in the fray for president, stepped aside to give Shwetha Menon a better shot at winning. Actor Baburaj, however, continued his bid for general secretary until actor Maala Parvathi and others objected, pointing out that no one named in harassment cases should contest. Baburaj is accused in a sexual assault case.
Cuckoo Parameswaran, meanwhile, emerged as Shwetha’s running mate for general secretary, and actor Ansiba became joint secretary unopposed.
But just as there was a general murmur of appreciation for the body of actors, with a section of the public cheering their decision to put women on top of the organisation, voices of disagreement began to rise from within. Controversy first erupted over a WhatsApp group of women in A.M.M.A. and a ‘memory card’ containing private conversations.
Baburaj's withdrawal and WhatsApp group controversy
The controversy began escalating after Baburaj withdrew his nomination following opposition due to him being named in a sexual harassment case. Details of a Whatsapp group of women in the A.M.M.A. began to emerge. Actors Usha Haseena and Ponnamma Babu, both admins of the group, brought up before the media, allegations concerning a ‘memory card.’
Usha told TNM that she created a WhatsApp group called Ammayude Penmakkal (Daughters of A.M.M.A.) after the last general body meeting, where it was suggested that there should be 50% representation of women in office and that there was a lack of unity among the women members. The group, she said, initially included all women in A.M.M.A., with Usha, Ponnamma Babu, and Ansiba as admins. “When Ansiba decided to contest the elections, we made Navya Nair an admin. Now, Navya is also in the fray,” she said.
The group, which had started off well with friendly exchanges, began to change shades when Ponnamma shared a voice clip of Baburaj, Usha said. “The clip had nothing to do with elections. It was a caution to women to take timely medical treatment in light of a senior actor falling ill.”
According to Usha, this was construed by some as an attempt to promote Baburaj’s candidacy.
Another conversation in the group brought up the issue of a ‘memory card’ — a recording from a 2018 meeting at the Holiday Inn in Kochi, where a small group of women actors had gathered to discuss issues in the industry. The recording was allegedly taken by Cuckoo Parameswaran, who was present at that meeting, and a copy of it was given to Edavela Babu, who was then the general secretary of the A.M.M.A. Usha and others in the WhatsApp group accused Cuckoo of using this memory card to intimidate or threaten actors named in that gathering as harassers.
More issues surfaced when promotional contents posted by certain actors were deleted, and those women began to leave the group. Those who left and disagreed with Usha, Ponnamma, and others alleged that the Whatsapp group was created to favour Baburaj — a charge that Usha rejects.
The memory card incident
It was amid these growing tensions that Usha took her concerns to the media, claiming Shwetha and Cuckoo were unsuitable to represent women in the association.
On August 2, Usha called a press conference and related the alleged ‘memory card’ incident. According to her, the Holiday Inn meeting in 2018 was called by Cuckoo with the alleged intention of countering the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), formed in the wake of the 2017 actor assault.
Usha said she was surprised to find less than 15 women at that gathering, when A.M.M.A. had more than 200 female members. She added that during the meeting, some women spoke up about their issues, while others kept mum upon seeing the camera. No one has since seen or heard anything about the recording, Usha alleged.
To TNM, she said she had repeatedly enquired about this recording but was assured it was in safe custody. “We were told it would be taken to the authorities concerned. But after the Hema Committee report came out in 2024, we realised it was not taken anywhere. It also did not come up before the Internal Committee that was briefly formed in A.M.M.A., of which Cuckoo was a member. So I no longer think she would be the right candidate to speak for the women in the association,” Usha said.
She claimed her disillusionment with Shwetha came when the actor called her and allegedly ridiculed the Hema Committee report, saying “nothing would come out of it.”
The two camps
Actor Maala Parvathi has emerged as a vocal supporter of Cuckoo and Shwetha, detailing in multiple social media posts what transpired in the WhatsApp group and explained her reasons for calling it a Baburaj camp. “Who are they trying to protect when they say that men named in the Holiday Inn gathering are being threatened? They are not speaking for women, they are speaking for the accused men,” Maala Parvathi told TNM.
She has nothing against Baburaj’s candidacy, except there was a general consensus that none of the men accused in the sexual harassment cases should stand for elections, she said.
Parvathi began having suspicions about the purpose of the WhatsApp group when Youtuber Haider Ali appeared to know what went on within the group and began to telecast inside conversations. It had seemed as if someone was leaking the content to Haider Ali.
She said she had offered help to the women who attended the Holiday Inn meeting to raise their complaints with the police or other authorities, but the offer was rejected. She added that since 2018, the issue of the memory card had never come up in any general body meeting or before the IC, of which she was a member.
“I had at first thought these were silly gimmicks to win an election. But it has become serious now, with a non-bailable offence charged against Shwetha,” she said, referring to a new case accusing the actor of obscene content in films and advertisements.
The complaint, filed by a man claiming to be a journalist, cited scenes from Shwetha’s movies released years ago, alleging that the clips were circulating on porn sites. Legal experts have questioned both the basis of the case and the court’s decision to entertain it.
Despite her reservations about Shwetha and Cuckoo’s candidacy, Usha said she and others on her side would stand by Shwetha in fighting the case.
