How AMMA lorded over Kerala cinema, its writ running from stars to junior artistes

Founded in 1994, the association has 498 members — 253 men and 245 women. AMMA limits its membership to established actors and doesn’t take junior artistes on board. Among its life-time members are several senior and retired actors, for whom the association holds charity events. Its website states, “AMMA stands as a powerful collective in the Malayalam film industry…with deep roots and broad reach”. However, with the resignations of several of its stars on Tuesday, the body now stands largely diminished.

Speaking of the association’s clout, an AMMA member told The Indian Express that their “diktats” could change fortunes “overnight” in the film industry.

The report of the Justice K Hema Committee on the issues faced by women in the Kerala film industry, too, sheds light on the clout wielded by the body – from denying toilets to women artistes on the sets to arguing against the setting up of an Internal Complaints Committee on sexual harassment to illegally banning people, both men and women.

On the “illegal” and “unconstitutional” bans, the commission notes that AMMA was, ironically, founded to tackle illegal bans that actors used to face in the industry at a certain point in time. However, the report says, some members of AMMA later formed “a lobby” which then started handing out bans to people.

In 2017, after the abduction and sexual assault of a leading woman actor in Kochi, fingers were pointed at AMMA for not ousting a male actor who was accused of “conspiring and orchestrating the rape”.

The commission notes that members of Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) – which was set up in protest against AMMA’s alleged inaction in the 2017 rape case – had to face the brunt after it took on the association. “None of them are given any chance to work in cinema. They are practically kept away by those who were offended by what members of WCC stated openly against atrocities in cinema and from AMMA,” the report reads.

The report also says that AMMA resisted the formation of an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) to address sexual harassment charges levelled against its members. According to the report, in response to a petition by WCC, AMMA had argued in the Kerala High Court that it is not legally obliged to set up an ICC since it is only an association and “not an employer”.

“It was contented that…the activities of AMMA will not fall under the definition of workplace and there is no employer-employee relationship between AMMA and its members…” the report notes.

The report adds that though AMMA has one forum which is similar to ICC, “no woman has approached such a forum with allegations of sexual harassment. It is not because they have no grievance but, they are not willing to go to such a forum with the grievances for various reasons”.

The report also notes that ICC will not be a solution for issues faced by women in the industry because a “power group” in AMMA controls the industry and they can directly influence the ICC.

One of the AMMA members told The Indian Express, “AMMA had too much power over its members and the dissenters were always sidelined.”
“AMMA has been at the forefront of illegal bans of people and it is only poetic justice that the body is now being disbanded,” said a director who faced an “unofficial” ban for 12 years.

On the turmoil that followed the release of the Hema Committee report and the series of allegations of sexual misconduct, an AMMA member had told the Indian Express on Monday that “the body is seeing unprecedented dissent from a section of its members”.