At least 20 members of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) have reportedly requested the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) to establish a separate trade union exclusively for actors.
This move comes amid significant upheaval within the Malayalam film industry following the release of the Justice Hema Committee report.
The report has sparked turmoil in the industry, with numerous sexual assault allegations surfacing against prominent AMMA members, including Siddique, Edavela Babu, and Maniyanpilla Raju. As a result, the AMMA executive committee, led by Mohanlal, has resigned.
This crisis within AMMA has led to growing divisions and a lack of reconciliation within the organisation. In light of these developments, 17 male and 3 female actors have formally requested FEFKA General Secretary B Unnikrishnan to facilitate the formation of a new union to protect the interests of Malayalam actors.
Unnikrishnan has stated that FEFKA will consider validating the new union after a thorough review of its executive committee and organisational structure. He assured that the identity and membership procedures of AMMA will remain unchanged.
Following the Justice Hema Committee report, the state government established a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate new allegations of sexual abuse.
To date, the SIT has registered 22 cases based on various complaints of abuse over the years, though it has not yet examined the incidents detailed in the report. The Kerala High Court has taken note of this and has directed the SIT to review the cases mentioned in the report.