KOCHI: A day after the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) witnessed the dramatic exit of its entire executive committee, the crisis deepened on Monday with another round of resignations and a bitter public spat among its women members.
Veteran actor Mallika Sukumaran and actor Lakshmipriya resigned from the primary membership of AMMA, while actor Asha Aravind stepped down from the ad-hoc committee formed following the resignation of the executive committee.
The events come despite actor Mohanlal’s appeal to members to bury their differences and protect the organisation.
What began as a dispute over financial accountability has now snowballed into a war of words between women members. While some rallied behind former president Shwetha Menon, others threw their weight behind actor Ansiba, whose questions on the association’s finances triggered heated exchanges at the general body.
Actor Maala Parvathi came down heavily on attempts to shield office-bearers from scrutiny. According to her, accountability cannot have a gender exception.
“Whether it is a man or a woman, when they occupy a responsible position, they have to answer questions. Mistakes can happen, but they must be corrected. Instead, the executive committee chose the easy way out,” she said.
Meanwhile, Mallika Sukumaran, in a Facebook post, accused AMMA of missing a historic opportunity. Pointing to the state government’s decision to grant industry status to cinema in the 2026-27 budget, she said the association should have been discussing studios, training centres, VFX parks and opportunities for women in cinema rather than internal disputes. “Kerala gave cinema the keys to the factory. AMMA is still arguing in the parking lot,” she wrote.
