Kochi: The Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) has confirmed the resignation of Dileep from the organisation and said he had given the resignation letter to president Mohanlal on October 10. It will be ratified by the executive committee later this month.
This was stated by AMMA secretary actor Siddique along with KPAC Lalitha here on Monday in response to the charges levelled by the members of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) on Saturday.
Talking to the media, Siddique also defended the association's decision to revoke the expulsion of Dileep, an accused in the actress-abduction and assault case.
"Dileep is only an accused, not a culprit. He was expelled after an EC meeting last year and the decision was revoked at the general body meeting by 280 members this year. The court has to pronounce whether he is a culprit or not. Only after that, a decision will be taken. And as per the bylaw, the EC cannot overrule the decision taken by the general body," Siddique said.
They also claimed that the WCC was misusing the #MeToo campaign that has created a great impact in the country. "They cited the examples of Akshay Kumar and Aamir Khan saying that they had decided to walk out of movies. The three members wanted Dileep banned from movies. How can somebody ask another person to leave his/her profession based on allegations?" he asked.
He said that AMMA will not call the resigned actors back to the association. "She (the survivor) and other three actors walked out on their own. If they want to come back, they have to start with the initial procedures," he said.
Actress Lalitha said that, if they want to come back, they should apologise for their mistakes first. She said AMMA had always given a space to address any complaints by actors.
"We are with the victim. Who said we are not? We rushed to her (the survivor) after the incident. I and others, including Mohanlal, spoke to the chief minister regarding the issue and the culprit Pulsar Suni was arrested within days," he said.
Referring to Revathi's complaint that Mohanlal had addressed them as 'actors' instead of mentioning their names, Siddique said, "I don't know how it becomes an insult when Mohanlal called the three actors as 'actors'. Acting is our job and being called an actor is an honour to us," he said.
They said that there was no need for an urgent general body meeting right now. However, actor Jagadish, who is the treasurer of AMMA, said in press statement that AMMA will hold a general body soon.
He alleged that the WCC had called the press meet to insult Mohanlal. "Somehow, they might have known about Dileep's resignation and then called the press meet. Their intention is clear," he said.
