July 12, 2017
With the arrest of superstar Dileep in
the actress abduction case, the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists
(AMMA) -- which came under fire from several quarters -- is all set to
undergo a makeover.
The younger generation, in all likelihood, is going to take over the
reins, which since being set up in the mid-1990s was controlled by
leading lights of Malayalam filmdom Mammootty, Mohanlal and Dileep.
"An executive meeting of AMMA will be held on Friday and it will take
stock of the turn of events and the loss of face it suffered with the
arrest of Dileep, its treasurer. The mood is that there should be a
change of guard," a member, who did not wish to be identified, told
IANS.
It was only on Tuesday that AMMA opened up after a hurriedly called
executive meeting chaired by Vice President Mammootty in the absence of
its President and Lok Sabha member Innocent, who was indisposed, and
decided to oust Dileep from the membership following his arrest.
Incidentally, at last month's Annual General Meeting, AMMA lost a lot
of face when its executive members and Left-backed legislators Mukesh
and K.B. Ganesh Kumar were seen engaged in a heated argument with media
persons when probing questions were asked.
Innocent, who has been at the helm of affairs for well over a decade,
also came for severe attack from several quarters on his
tongue-in-cheek remark on the prevalence of the casting couch in the
Malayalam film industry and also the way he handled questions during
the press conference.
Upcoming superstar Prithviraj, who is also son of late actor Sukumaran,
appeared to be one person who is determined to end the hegemony of the
two legends Mammootty and Mohanlal, both of whom were his father's
contemporaries.
Sukumaran, who passed away in 1997, had to face the wrath of the
dominant sections in AMMA soon after it was formed in the early 1990s.
Among the others who are likely to be the new face of AMMA would be
Asif Ali, Jayasurya and Kunjuchacko Boban. It is also expected that the
representation of women members in the executive is likely to go up.
The Friday executive meeting is also expected to call a special general
body meeting when the present executive committee is likely to step
down to facilitate the election of a new body.
Barring the CPI-M, all the frontline political parties had come down
heavily on AMMA and called for its disbanding as it failed to rise to
the occasion especially when the actress abduction took place and what
came as a shock to many was the stoic silence maintained by Mammootty
and Mohanlal.