June 27, 2018, will hereafter be known as a day of revolution. In an extraordinary act, which would have been accompanied by a thrilling background score in movies, four actors – Bhavana, Rima Kallingal, Remya Nambeesan and Geethu Mohandas – quit the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), in protest against the inclusion of Dileep, an accused in the abduction and assault of a woman actor, who, like him, was a member of the outfit.
In a series of dramatic incidents that unveiled after more than a year following the assault on the actor and the arrest of Dileep, the AMMA decided to ‘unanimously’ reinstate the star into the organisation. The Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) was quick to respond with a Facebook post questioning the logic of the decision, which was met with zero response from the AMMA or its newly-elected president Mohanlal. While most of the industry insiders remain tight-lipped on the matter, a few choose to air their views, declaring their allegiance to the women who chose to revolt.
The fight is stronger, so is the resolve of the women who announce to the world that whatever happens, they are with Her. A day after four woman actors quit the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), acts of solidarity and supportive messages followed. After an open letter issued by the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), many broke their silence. While many actors chose to remain anonymous, many fearlessly voiced their opinion, both for and against the recent acts. Public too are quick to take sides with posters, messages, profile photos and hashtag campaigns. In a hyper-realistic never-before-seen cinematic experience, the whole world seems to be part of one big movie with drama, stunts, punch lines and the ultimate show of camaraderie by the leading ladies.
Where was WCC?
Another member of AMMA, who was present at the general body meeting and prefers to remain anonymous, too airs his opinion. “I was sitting somewhere in the back when the meeting commenced. Urmila Unni made a statement that was applauded by some and then passed by the executive committee members,” recalls the actor, who has been in the industry for some time and has shared screen space with the superstars as well the younger generation Turks.
“Right or wrong aside, what I want to ask the WCC members is why they did not attend the AMMA meeting and then when the question was raised by Urmila, oppose it or voice their opinion? That would have been a more democratic way of getting their collective voices heard and there might have been some hands raised in their favour. If they were not happy with a decision, they had all the freedom to walk away but not before stating their stand and at least having the satisfaction of knowing they did not keep silent at the meeting. They could have walked away with their heads held high after voicing their stand.”
While the actor mentions that his sympathy is with the survivor, he states this should not be a decision taken just to support a friend and colleague. He asks, “The WCC was formed a year ago but has the collective ever done anything to financially help the ailing actors or poverty-stricken woman members? Is that also not a part of their obligations other than making just the assaulted actor their single point agenda?”
FEFKA continues its stand: B. Unnikrishnan
I don’t think being a director I should comment about the decision that AMMA has taken as it is an association of actors. However, I can talk about the association that I belong to. As a member of FEFKA, I am supposed to abide by the decision that the association has taken. It had expelled the actor in concern last year itself when he was identified as an accused in the actress assault case. To my knowledge, there has not been any change in that decision to date.
