KOCHI: As Mollywood’s most anticipated off-screen drama, the election to the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) will play out today. With Mohanlal stepping down as president and refusing to contest, the stage is now set for a face-off between Shwetha Menon and Devan for the top post.
The stakes are high. The association will also elect two vice-presidents, a general secretary, and 11 executive committee members. Kukku Parameswaran and Raveendran are vying to be named general secretary, while Jayan Cherthala, Lakshmi Priya, and Nasser Latif are in the race for the vice-president posts. Ansiba Hassan, an executive member on the previous committee, was elected joint secretary last month after 12 of her rivals withdrew their nominations.
This election comes with more than its usual share of intrigue. Allegations and controversies shadowed the campaign. Police filed a case against Shwetha for “transmitting sexually explicit content”, but the High Court stayed further proceedings.
Kukku, meanwhile, is fighting claims by a group of artists that she possesses a memory card containing explosive testimonies of women actors — allegations she has formally taken to the police and the State Women’s Commission. Baburaj, facing sexual assault charges, withdrew from the fray following backlash.
The election itself was triggered by turmoil. The AMMA executive committee for 2024-27 resigned en masse after last year’s release of the Justice Hema Committee report, which laid bare systemic harassment and sexual abuse in the industry.
“The association received 74 nominations for various posts, but many were rejected or withdrawn after scrutiny. Some even filed nominations for multiple positions,” said an official formerly with AMMA’s ad hoc panel.
In the early scramble, Jagadeesh, Raveendran, Jayan Cherthala, and Anoop Chandran also filed their papers for president, only to withdraw their bids later.