At least four young actresses, including Rima Kallingal, Geetu Mohandas and Remya Nambeesan, have quit the organisation citing 'insensitivity to their demands.' It seems to be season of desertions and admission in the embattled Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA). At least four young actresses, including Rima Kallingal, Geetu Mohandas and Remya Nambeesan, have quit the organisation citing 'insensitivity to their demands.'
The plot went for a spin and toss after a young woman actress was kidnapped and assaulted by a gang in a moving car in Kochi on February 17, 2017. The police arrested actor Dileep and the gang. The roller-coaster of an inquiry and subsequent filing of charge sheet happened and the actor has been listed as an accused for masterminding the plot.
The apparently 'patriarchal' AMMA got up a general body where its president Innocent termed both the victim and Dileep 'off springs' of the same mother (AMMA).
Patronage shunned
A section of women artistes were not ready to buy the filial patronage of the MP and sought Dileep's ouster. They formed the Women's Collective in Cinema (WCC), the notable founding members being Dileep's estranged wife Manju Warrier, Rima Kallingal, Geetu Mohandas, script writer Deedi Damodaran et al. The WCC was quite like Malayalam cinema's new wave which saw new realities and immersive plots gnawing at the rusty foundations.
Trouble
The powers were in a fix as they were at once compelled to embrace the ideals of the WCC and be supportive of AMMA. The old guard was proverbially caught 'between two worlds.'
More discontent
Now, there seems to be more tangents of discontent emerging from the AMMA fulcrum. Director Aashiq Abu was also vocal of AMMA's act of taking back Dileep. He said AMMA acted more like a 'gang.' A day ago, writer N S Madhavan vociferously criticised AMMA's Dileep endorsement and said the support was for the 'tormentor.'
Implications
The charm of the collective could be in its aspiration to alter a deeply entrenched culture. The collective could easily be a trailblazer - for it is taking on a behemoth by solely depending on its members' inherent strength as women and artistes.
Read: Latest Entertainment News | Aashiq Abu dubs AMMA as mafia
