Actor Mohanlal, in the first major presser after being elected president of the embattled Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), has said the top agenda of the association meeting last month was Dileep.
Mohanlal said AMMA members had gathered for an emergency meeting at actor Mammootty's residence last year to discuss Dileep's possible expulsion. At the meeting, the members were split in two groups over Dileep's expulsion. AMMA was under tremendous pressure and decided to expel Dileep. But Dileep was still part of AMMA as per records, he said.
“No formal steps were taken to expel him from the association. Hence, we were to discuss Dileep's ouster from AMMA at the meeting last month. People who call AMMA patriarchal should have taken part in the meeting and discussed it then and there. Nobody opposed when it was decided to take Dileep back in the organization," Mohanlal said.
Mohanlal said there was no participation during the election. “We had plans to take women as office-bearers. But no one was interested. Why didn't women contest the executive body elections?" he asked.
Asked about the allegations raised by an actress who was abducted and assaulted in a moving car in Kochi on February 17, 2017, Mohanlal said AMMA had not received an official complaint from her. Hence, the association cannot take any action.
Mohanlal had courted huge controversy after the very first meeting chaired by him as president of AMMA decided to take back Dileep into the association. Dileep was expelled earlier after he was arrested on charges of conspiracy in the actress attack case.
Following Dileep's re-induction actresses Geetu Mohandas, Remya Nambeesan, and Rima Kallingal had quit AMMA citing 'insensitivity' to their demands. They were members of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC). Following this, WCC actors Parvathy, Revathy and Padmapriya came out demanding an executive meeting with AMMA.
