Thiruvananthapuram: AMMA president and Malayalam superstar Mohanlal, who drew flak after actor Dileep - accused in actress attack case - was reinstated, said that the leadership had merely heeded popular sentiment and there was no other vested interests behind the move.
Dileep, accused of hiring goons to abduct and assault the actress, had been removed from AMMA (Association of Malayalam Movie Artists) last year. However, in a sudden move he was reinstated on June 26, triggering widespread protests.
Explaining the circumstances that led to the move, Mohanlal said: “The general sentiment that rose up without a murmur of protest was that the action taken against Dileep should be frozen. The leadership just demonstrated the primary democratic courtesy of standing by the unanimous opinion of the general meeting. Apart from this, the AMMA leadership has neither a vested interest nor a stand on this issue."
“Even before the decision to reinstate Dileep was officially conveyed to him, the media had attacked us. Before realising what the truth was, many people whom we respect a lot criticised us. We acknowledge what they had to say,” he added.
'AMMA not anti-woman'
Stating that it was wrong to tag the organisation as anti-woman or mafia gang, Mohanlal said: "The heinous assault on one of our woman colleagues had caused us great pain."
"From that day onwards, we have always stood with the victim," Mohanlal said in the statement released on Saturday.
"There are only 485 members in AMMA and more than half are reeling under financial crisis. Most of them don't have house and struggle to make both ends meet. AMMA provides for nearly 137 of its such 'children'. AMMA does not beat doldrums about these initiatives. Such an organisation cannot be suddenly called anti-women or mafia gang," he added.
The actress, who was assaulted, had resigned on Tuesday from AMMA, a day after Dileep was reinstated. Three other actresses had also putt in their papers to express solidarity with her.
People from various walks of life had protested AMMA's move to take back Dileep. Political parties took out a protest march to Mohanlal's house and placed a wreath near the gate.
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