Day after actor Parvathy resigned from AMMA, 2 more members quit Kerala film body

Thiruvananthapuram: A day after Malayalam actor Maala Parvathy resigned from the internal complaints committee (ICC) of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) two more members quit on Tuesday protesting the organisation’s refusal to take strong action against producer Vijay Babu who is facing rape charges.

Actors Swetha Menon and Kukku Parameswaran resigned from the ICC citing a soft approach towards Babu who is on the run after police registered a case against him. Menon is the head of the ICC. Both said AMMA’s response does not seem to be an indication of action against the accused.

Earlier AMMA had accepted a letter written by Babu saying he was opting out of the organisation in view of charges being levelled against him but many women actors want him to be suspended immediately.

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But AMMA vice president Maniyanpillai Raju later said if a member voluntarily opts out of the organisation in view of charges against him it cannot suspend him further. He said suspension procedure requires due explanation and hearing of the person concerned. But many women artists alleged that the organisation’s response was biased in such critical issues. In the actor assault case of 2017 also there were allegations against AMMA that it was soft towards accused actor Dileep. Later many women artists resigned from the body and formed a new outfit, Women in Cinema Collective.

The police had registered two cases that of rape and revealing the identity of the survivor, against Babu last week after an actor filed a sexual assault complaint against him on April 22. Later he slipped out of the country and the police issued a lookout notice against him. He also moved an anticipatory bail plea in the High Court. Babu on Monday sent a request to the police saying he had gone to Dubai for business purposes and needs two weeks’ time to appear before them. The police, however, rejected his demand and asked him to surrender at the earliest. Kochi police commissioner Nagaraju Chakilam said they had approached authorities to cancel his passport.