KOCHI: A day after the resignation of MLA Ramesh Pisharody as the convener of the ad hoc committee of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), women members including Ansiba Hassan on Saturday levelled serious allegations against the executive committee, saying that the committee attempted to bring communal polarisation within the association.
Actors Ansiba, Maala Parvathi, Usha Haseena and Maya Viswanath talked to reporters in Kochi against Shwetha Menon securing a stay from the Ernakulam Munsif Court against the functioning of the ad hoc committee.
Referring to the statements by a BJP woman leader, Maala Parvathi said the association does not need corporate funding. “A BJP leader is talking about Adani’s `15-crore funding for AMMA. We won’t allow another ‘Kerala Story’ to happen in Malayalam cinema, and they cannot impose any party’s agenda in the organisation. There should not be any divisions based on caste and religion and nobody should be called a jihaadi,” she said.
Usha accused the elected leadership of pursuing personal and vested interests. “The president and secretary were engaged in ego clashes. The committee members were trying to silence Ansiba when she raised questions. Even in the general body meeting, many of us were not allowed to talk.”
Usha added that AMMA vice-president Lakshmipriya had called her a jihaadi, too, and later dismissed it as a troll.
Meanwhile, just hours after the press meet, Shwetha wrote on Facebook that the court has intervened and blocked an attempt by some to hijack AMMA by taking advantage of disputes within the organisation. Thanking actors Mammootty and Mohanlal, she said they told her not to resign, to stand firm in her stand, and to fight.
“10 or 15 people should not decide how AMMA should function. The majority of AMMA members should decide that. Those who really want to be part of the AMMA committee should come by contesting elections like us, not through the back door,” Shwetha said.
Ansiba said the situation in which actor Mohanlal and the previous executive committee resigned was different.
“We had to wait for a general body meeting to be held to appoint an ad hoc committee. Also, there weren’t any allegations against the committee within the association. The situation is different here. The committee is facing many allegations of financial discrepancies. The report was not passed in the general body meeting and they cannot be made an ad hoc committee,” Ansiba said, adding that members of the executive committee were appointed to the ad hoc committee to ensure smooth functioning.
The 16-member executive committee, led by Shwetha Menon and Kukkoo Parameswaran, had announced its resignation after the June 21 general body meeting, less than a year after being elected in August 2025. The crisis was triggered after members questioned the expenditure of `67 lakh on AMMA’s annual family get-together, setting off one of the association’s most bitter internal battles in recent years.