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The recent resignation of the entire board of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), including its chairman Mohanlalcame in the wake of shocking revelations from the Hema Commission ReportThe report, which exposed serious issues of sexual harassment and gender inequality in the Malayalam film industry, has sparked a wave of controversy. It detailed widespread exploitation and unsafe working conditions for women, leading to intense criticism and demands for accountability. The mass resignation of AMMA’s executive committee amid these serious allegations has sparked significant debate and raised questions about the industry’s commitment to addressing these critical issues.

BollywoodLife spoke to senior journalist Latha Srinivasan, who covers the South Indian film industry extensively, and asked her for her views on the current developments. When asked if the release of the Hema Commission report marks the beginning of a major #MeToo movement in the Malayalam film industry, Latha said, “I believe the significance of the Hema Commission report stems from the rape and sexual assault of an actress in the Malayalam film industry in 2017. The report was completed in 2019. One disturbing aspect of course is that the Kerala government delayed the release of the report for five years due to concerns about the possible backlash and controversy it could create. So that in itself was a negative factor. But now that the report has been republished, the responsibility seems to be on the victims because the government has clearly said that the women, the actresses who have been sexually assaulted or who want to file a complaint, they should go to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) and file a complaint, and then there will be an investigation, and then it will go from there. So the government has clearly washed its hands of this whole report or the actions they could have taken to protect women or to regulate the film industry.”

Mohanlal, the chairman of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) committee, resigned a few days after the publication of the Hema committee report. After the exposé, we witnessed a mass resignation of the committee members. Many people were shocked by Mohanlal’s complete silence and lack of explanation, especially considering that several committee members, including actor Siddiqui and Baburaj, were also accused. Journalist Latha Srinivasan has stressed that the burden of proof is now back on the women to prove their assault.

Latha stated, “Now, the second aspect is that you see the AMMA committee, which is a representative of the Malayalam film industry. It includes Mohanlal as the president and the remaining committee members, who have all collectively resigned. It is again a problem because they are the ones with authority who could have made rules and regulations and put in place procedures that could have helped women working in the Malayalam film industry. They have all resigned and are washing their hands of this whole issue. So what happens now? That is the big question. What happens now is the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), which was also very important and was formed in 2017 by a group of women from the Malayalam industry and includes women like Remya Nambeesan, Rima Kallingal, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Sajitha Madathil and so many others. The onus of this again lies on the women in the film industry to fight for their rights because the government is not going to do anything. So who is going to take action again? The responsibility lies with women and the victims, and that is a very sad situation. So how much will change? That is a big question. And right now, given the way accusations and counter-accusations are being made, I am not sure how much will really change in the coming years.”

WCC founder and actress Parvathy Thiruvothu has criticized Mohanlal and other AMMA committee members for the mass resignation and termed their action as cowardly. The actress said how this puts the burden on women to continue the conversation about taking action against the accused actors and ensuring the safety of women. When asked about her thoughts on the matter, Srinivasan shared, “Ultimately, when you are in a position where Mohanlal is the president of AMMA… you have committee members who themselves have been accused of sexual harassment… You have Jayasurya (who is accused). So suddenly, when names start cropping up within the committee itself, I think, defending their male colleagues with whom they have worked… all the men from the Malayalam film industry reportedly know what is going on. I don’t think they want to raise their voice, point fingers at their own colleagues and get into another controversy. That’s why Parvati called it cowardly. I would say it’s more irresponsible. They don’t want to be held accountable. They don’t want to be a part of it, so there’s no pointing fingers at them because the media will question you if you are in a position of authority. Now that there are no individuals (in the committee), nobody can question them, right?”