We are hurt by AMMA's indifference: WCC

The women of WCC clarified that this is not a personal fight and that they are simply calling the men out for their unjust treatment of the survivor
We are hurt by AMMA's indifference: WCC

The Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) called a press meet in Kochi to protest the inaction on the part of the prominent members heading the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) with regard to actor Dileep's reinstatement. All the WCC members criticised the perplexing stand of Mohanlal, who is currently the President of AMMA.

Bangalore Days director Anjali Menon, who was present at the meeting, said that when Bollywood is taking an active part in the #MeToo movement, the women in the Malayalam film industry are still being sidelined and the leading actors in the industry, silent.

Actor Revathy said that they are hurt by the indifference of AMMA. "The fact that a rape accused is still working inside the industry while the survivor remained outside is unacceptable," she said. "They are not willing to listen to us. The association has tagged the female artistes as troublemakers." She also added that Mohanlal insulted them by referring to them as 'actresses' and not by their names.

The women of WCC clarified that this is not a personal fight and that they are simply calling the men out for their unjust treatment of the survivor. An angry Padmapriya slammed AMMA saying they are not equipped to handle the grievance of female artistes and are making a mockery of the women and the public. "We're not sure if they are telling the truth. What is currently going on is a lot of drama. Whenever we address something, they say they'll consider, but so far they haven't done anything substantial. They are still standing by the accused," she said. 

"It is high time we bring about a change," continued Revathy. "The members of AMMA are celebrated by millions of fans. Everything they do and everything they think is news. What example are they setting for our children, who may enter the industry soon, with this kind of behavior?" 

It was initially believed that the press meet was called to make some major #MeToo revelations, but nothing of the sort happened. However, a past incident involving Archana Padmini, a female artiste who mostly works in indie films, was brought up. Archana had an unpleasant experience on the set of the Mammootty-starrer Pullikaran Stara, whose assistant production controller had behaved inappropriately with her. Though she had earlier brought this to the notice of director B Unnikrishnan, General secretary of Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA), and director Sibi Malayil, President of FEFKA, no action has been taken so far, she alleged. When asked why she didn't approach the police, she said she has "a lot of other things to do in life instead of going after these losers."

Revathy vaguely mentioned another incident involving a 17-year-old girl. However, she refused to divulge the details as she didn't have the girl's consent.  The other members of the WCC present at the meet were actors Rima Kallingal, Sajitha Madathil, Parvathy and Remya Nambeesan. They declared that they won't resign from AMMA and are going to tear apart the masks the insensitive male members of AMMA are hiding under.

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