WCC comes down heavily on AMMA, Mohanlal

Kochi: The Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) on Saturday came down heavily on the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) and its president Mohanlal over the alleged unresponsive attitude they have displayed over the actress attack case.

Clad in black dresses, WCC members including actors Revathy, Parvathy, Padmapriya, Rima Kallingal, Remya Nambeeshan and filmmaker Anjali Menon met media persons here.

The press meet had its share of #MeToo moment when young actress Archana Padmini revealed she had to face harrowing experiences on the sets of Mammootty-starrer Pullikkaran Staraa.

Revathy recalled an incident in which a 17-year old girl knocked on her door around midnight pleading for help. Such incidents should not repeat, she said.

However, she did not reveal the details of the incident despite repeated queries from journalists. ‘I can’t reveal the details without the girl’s permission’, she said.

Padmapriya, Revathy and Parvathy introduced themselves in the beginning of the press meet. Revathy said that they chose to introduce themselves because AMMA president (Mohanlal) recently refused to acknowledge their identity. She said Mohanlal recently referred to them as only ‘actresses’.

Padmapriya said that AMMA was supporting the accused actor Dileep and not protecting the survivor actress. ‘The status about Dileep’s membership in AMMA is still not clear’, Padmapriya said.

The WCC members said AMMA was trying to cause confusion over its by-law. Parvathy said that she was ready to resign from AMMA.

Idavela Babu asked her why the WCC members wanted to defame AMMA. Parvathy said that they have lost faith in the leadership of AMMA.

However, the WCC made it clear that nobody will quit AMMA now. The members will attend the general body meet, they said.