‘Gag order’ in Malayalam film body AMMA amid controversies

Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) president Swetha Menon has reportedly issued a gag order to its executive committee members, restraining them from making public statements in the media in the wake of a recent spate of controversies.

While Ms. Menon was not available for comment, an executive committee member confirmed that such a directive had indeed been issued, though not in the form of a firm stricture. He, however, noted that similar directions had been flouted in the past with impunity.

AMMA has been rattled after its former joint secretary Ansiba Hassan levelled serious allegations against executive committee member Tini Tom earlier this week. She accused Mr. Tom and a section of members of making communal remarks against her and tarnishing her character by spreading baseless stories.

The organisation courted further controversy after details surfaced on Monday of a ₹75-lakh pact it signed with a temple trust for the title sponsorship of its family meet held in February. Incidentally, controversial middleman T.G. Nandakumar is the chairman of the trust and one of the signatories of the pact, along with AMMA general secretary Cuckoo Parameswaran.

Ms. Hassan, meanwhile, remains determined to pursue legal recourse against Mr. Tom and a woman sub-inspector who allegedly harassed her for three hours over a complaint lodged against her by another actor. The complaint, she claimed, was fabricated. She had no faith in receiving justice from the present committee, which she felt, has now been pressed into action only following media pressure. The AMMA executive committee has reportedly invited Ms. Hassan to depose before it in the wake of her allegations.

Mallika Sukumaran slams executive committee

Earlier in the day, AMMA member and actor Mallika Sukumaran lashed out at the executive committee, shortly after which the gag order was reportedly issued. She went so far as to call for the dismissal of the entire committee, followed by fresh elections as “the only possible solution.”

She accused the committee of maintaining excessive secrecy around its functioning, leaving members often in the dark. The organisation, she said, had become “a disgrace, humiliating its members before society.” Ms. Sukumaran wondered why senior actors like Mammootty and Mohanlal had not intervened for course correction and urged them to do so.

Calls for financial transparency

Another actor and AMMA member, Maala Parvathi, alleged that there was no transparency, particularly in financial affairs, in the functioning of the present committee.

“There is no clarity on the accounts for the last two years, as the present committee has failed to honour its promise of presenting the audited accounts of the previous committee within three months of coming to power. While members are kept in the dark about the decisions of the executive committee, they are invariably leaked to some YouTube channels, which is disgraceful,” she said.