Actors Revathy Asha Kelunni and Padmapriya Janakiraman resigned from the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) on Monday, saying their decision was neither sudden nor linked to a single incident. In a joint Instagram statement, the two actors said they were stepping away from the Malayalam film body after years of seeking safer workplaces, dignity, accountability and equal treatment.
Their resignation comes as AMMA faces an internal crisis. In their statement, Revathy and Padmapriya said the organisation had moved away from its founding ideals and had become shaped by patriarchy and power politics. They said they still believed the Malayalam film industry could change.
In the statement, the actors wrote, “This may look like one more chapter in the ongoing AMMA saga. It is not. Our resignation is not in haste and not about a single incident.” They said that for nearly a decade, their demands had remained the same: safer workplaces, dignity, accountability and equal treatment. They described these as the minimum every member deserved and said they had believed these were values everyone in the organisation could support.
They also said the cost of raising these concerns had been “silence and distance” from colleagues, friends and places that had once felt like home. Even then, they said, they stayed on because hope had survived disappointment. Referring to developments after the Hema Committee report, they wrote, “The resignations after the Hema Committee Report were not an act of principle. They were an escape from accountability. Once the attention faded, the same old order returned.” They added that while faces and methods changed, the structures that enabled inequality remained untouched.
Revathy and Padmapriya said AMMA had been meant to serve as a collective voice for all actors, but had increasingly been shaped by patriarchy and power politics, weakening its founding ideals. They said leaving now was “not defeat” but “self-respect”. They also wrote that they had unwavering faith that the Malayalam film industry could become a place where women did not have to fight the same battles as those before them, and said that belief had never depended on membership of the organisation.
They said they would continue their work as film professionals for better storytelling, for fellow colleagues and for a more equitable industry. They also thanked the public and the media for standing by them. The statement said, “Institutions endure not because people stay, but because they stay worthy of trust. We leave this chapter with clarity and hope.” They concluded it by saying, “See you at the cinemas.”
In the caption of the post, the actors said they were resigning from their primary membership of A.M.M.A. “Not in anger, not in haste,” they wrote. They said that between them they had given decades to the industry and cared about where it went next. They repeated that their long-standing demands had been safety, dignity, accountability and equal treatment, but said they had instead been met with silence and the realisation that the institution, in its present form, was not ready to change. They added that Malayalam cinema would always remain theirs to love and work for, and that this had never depended on a membership.
Why did Revathy and Padmapriya resign?
The resignations come at a time when AMMA is under intense scrutiny. The organisation’s 17-member executive committee, headed by actor Shwetha Menon, resigned after a no-confidence motion and heated discussions during the annual general body meeting in Kochi. Menon later criticised the previous committee and alleged financial irregularities in the organisation’s earlier functioning. She said her committee had found discrepancies in accounts that predated its tenure and added that she was unwilling to remain a “play doll” or “puppet” within the organisation.
Following the mass resignation, AMMA’s general body appointed an ad-hoc committee led by actor and Palakkad MLA Ramesh Pisharody to run the organisation until fresh elections are held. The developments have once again brought the Malayalam film body into focus, nearly a year after the fallout linked to the Justice Hema Committee report.
Malayalam actor Mammootty also commented on the controversy days later. Asked about the crisis in AMMA, he replied with humour, saying, “I was wondering why you hadn’t asked that yet.” He did not go into specifics and instead said, “Let things pan out, a decision will be reached; it’s okay.” When questioned further, he said, “We can only see things as they unfold, can’t we? The next moment is not in our hands, after all. All problems must be resolved, and they will be. These are just small matters, aren’t they?” He made the remarks after receiving the Padma Bhushan from President Droupadi Murmu during the second Civil Investiture Ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
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