AMMA under Mohanlal’s leadership faces heat after Vijay Babu shows up at its general body meeting

Vijay Babu, who has been accused of raping a woman actor, put AMMA in a tight spot when he showed up at the film body's general body meeting on Sunday in Kochi.

By: Entertainment Desk

Bengaluru | Updated: June 28, 2022 08:52 AM IST

3 min read

A case has been filed against Vijay Babu for allegedly sexually assaulting and raping a female actor. (File)

Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) president Mohanlal and the film body’s executive committee faced some tough questions during a press conference held on Sunday after AMMA’s general body meeting. Actor-producer Vijay Babu had stirred things up when he showed up at the meeting at a time when he is facing investigation in a sexual assault case.

It’s worth noting that Babu had stepped down from the executive committee of AMMA, the apex body of Malayalam cinema, and vowed to return to the association only after securing a clean chit in the rape case. It’s unclear why he turned up at Sunday’s general body meeting.

Also Read | Vikram box office: Kamal Haasan movie crosses Rs 400 cr globally, earns Rs 172 cr in Tamil Nadu alone

The executive committee of AMMA was asked about what action it will take against Vijay Babu. The association’s treasurer Siddique said, “The case is in the court. And we will act per the judgement.” This seems to be the standard response of AMMA, which also earlier faced the heat over the way it responded to the sexual assault case involving actor Dileep.

Dileep is a primary accused in the kidnapping and sexual assault of a popular woman actor in 2017. Mohanlal came under fire when he reinstated Dileep’s membership in the association after he assumed the position of its president in 2018. However, Dileep said he was not returning to the association until he’s cleared of all charges in the case.

Vijay Babu has been accused of raping a woman actor. And the actor-producer further courted controversy when he revealed the identity of the woman actor in a Facebook live where he denied all the allegations levelled against him. Later, he also fled the country fearing arrest by the Kochi police in connection with the case. Vijay returned to Kerala earlier this month, after the Kerala High Court granted him interim protection from arrest. He’s under investigation now.

Babu was part of AMMA’s executive committee. And he was removed from that position following pressure from AMMA’s Internal Committee (IC). When action was delayed, members of the IC resigned in protest, leading to AMMA disbanding the committee.

When asked about the same during Sunday’s press meet, AMMA spokesman Edavela Babu said that there was no need for an IC in AMMA. He added that the association was in the process of establishing an IC for the entire Malayalam film industry.

Story continues below this ad

Even though Mohanlal was present at the press meet, he didn’t respond to the question related to Vijay Babu or the IC.

From the homepage