AMMA-WCC meeting closes on hopeful note: We are having a very healthy discussion, says Revathy

The meeting between Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) and members of Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) took place in Kochi on 7 August. The three members of WCC, namely Revathy, Padma Priya, and Parvathy, arrived well before the designated time of 4 pm, reports The News Minute. The three actresses had asked for the meeting after AMMA decided to bring back actor Dileep , even before the trial for his rape charges were over. As reported earlier, the matter dates back to February 2017 when a leading actress was captured, abducted and sexually assaulted by a group of men in a van from Nedumbassery, 30 km from Kochi. One of the prime suspects in the case, later confessed that entire matter was executed under Dileep’s orders. This move, which essentially undermined the graveness of the charges, was vehemently criticised and was followed with resignations of four members, Rima Kallingal, Geetu Mohandas, Remya Nambeessan, and the survivor. [caption id=“attachment_4782551” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] (From left-right) Revathy, Padmapriya and Parvathy. Images from Facebook[/caption] As the report states, after the meeting, AMMA representatives held a press conference where they claimed that the regulations and bye-laws of the committee required immediate change along with establishment of a disciplinary committee . “We were not very serious as an organisation for the longest time because nothing warranted it. But now, we have decided to make it more professional. We have considered all their issues and we know that these are weighty issues. We will have a general body meeting following this executive meeting. They will be given a platform to express everything. We still have a lot of issues to discuss,” said the AMMA representatives. Revathy reiterated that they had approached the meeting not as WCC members but life-members of AMMA. Actor Jagadeesh, who is also an executive council member for AMMA said the actors’ body did not decide to implead in the case. The statement comes after Honey Rose and Rachana filed a petition  to back up the survivor’s demands. They had even requested that the case be heard by a female judge of over 25 years of legal practice. Jagadeesh pointed out that the decision of the two actresses was completely voluntary and AMMA had no direct involvement with it. The report adds that Mohanlal, president of AMMA, wanted to reach to a unanimous conclusion and was not considering a resignation .  “I don’t want to resign. Without quitting, I want to run this smoothly with everyone’s support,” said Mohanlal. (Also Read: Dileep's return to AMMA highlights a problematic culture that protects perpetrators of abuse ) During the press conference, Mohanlal stated that AMMA would admit to its faulty decision of reinstating actor Dileep only after the truth regarding the matter was established. However The News Minute reports that actor Joy Mathew informed the media that Dileep’s re-admission to AMMA was brought about without listing it as part of the agenda in the General Body meeting. This statement, in essence, goes against what Mohanlal stated previously. Revathy ended the conference on an optimistic note, stating “We are having a very healthy discussion and that’s the first step forward.”