AMMA crisis: Women actors accuse Shwetha Menon of communal polarisation, political and corporate nexus

In a hard-hitting press conference, a group of women actors levelled serious allegations against Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) president Shwetha Menon and some of her committee members, accusing them of attempted communal polarisation and advancing corporate and political agendas.

Actors Ansiba Hassan, Maala Parvathy, and Usha Haseena addressed the media on Saturday (July 4, 2026) morning, just hours after Ms. Menon secured a stay from the Ernakulam Munsif Court against the functioning of the ad-hoc committee that followed her announcement of resignation, along with that of the entire executive committee, at the Annual General Body Meeting (AGM) last month. Actor and legislator Ramesh Pisharody has since resigned as convenor of the ad hoc committee, expressing dismay over what he described as the “release” of his telephone conversation with Ms. Menon.

Ms. Parvathy was particularly scathing, accusing Ms. Menon of attempting to create communal divisions among members and of labelling Ms. Hassan a “jihadi” on account of her community. She also played an audio clip purportedly featuring the voice of a woman BJP leader claiming that a major business group would have donated ₹15 crore to AMMA had Ms. Menon remained at the helm. She wondered whether Ms. Menon’s insistence on clinging to the post was somehow linked to a quid pro quo arrangement involving the said funding.

“AMMA does not need corporate funding. While members may hold political beliefs, they cannot impose party agendas within the organisation. Ansiba was targeted for questioning this. She was even accused of attempting to convert four people, including a production controller, merely because she broke her fast on a film set in 2023. What justifies executive committee member Tiny Tom invoking this incident three years later in a WhatsApp chat in 2026? How can Lakshmi Priya, AMMA’s vice-president, get away with alleging that religious fundamentalists are behind Ansiba?” Ms. Parvathy asked.

She further alleged that Ms. Menon threatened to oust her from the industry if she intervened in the episode concerning Ms. Hassan. “You don’t know what you are getting into. Stay away from this,” she quoted Ms. Menon as saying.

Ms. Hassan questioned why the Palarivattom police had not registered an FIR on her complaint against defamatory allegations made by Ms. Priya through a YouTube channel, despite the intervention of Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala. “They merely issued me an acknowledgement receipt, saying an FIR could be registered only after a 14-day preliminary inquiry, though there is prima facie ground for a case. How can this happen in Kerala?,” she said.

She urged the Home Minister to “give equal or greater priority than Operation Toofan” to ensure prompt registration of complaints across police stations, even when petitioners lack influence.

Ms. Hassan said she had been targeted ever since opposing the executive committee’s decision to accept a donation from a temple trust, arguing that religious and political outfits should be kept out of AMMA. The sponsorship, she said, was initially agreed at ₹1 crore but later reduced to ₹75 lakh. “I don’t know what happened to the remaining ₹25 lakh,” she added.

Ms. Hassan noted that the earlier committee led by Mohanlal had been allowed to continue as an ad hoc body following its resignation, since the AGM – the top decision-making forum – was months away and no financial irregularities were alleged against it. Ms. Menon secured a stay against the functioning of the ad hoc committee, citing the absence of any mention of such a body in AMMA’s by-laws.

Ms. Haseena accused Ms. Menon’s executive committee of pursuing personal and vested interests driven by a hunger for power. “The president and secretary (Kukku Parameswaran) were engaged in ego clashes and worked at cross purposes. Ansiba was cornered whenever she raised protests,” she alleged.

She further claimed that Ms. Priya had called her “jihadi” and later dismissed it as trolling. “Is calling someone jihadi the way to troll?” she asked. Ms. Haseena also accused Ms. Menon of attempting to implement a BJP agenda and described the leak of Mr. Pisharody’s phone conversation as “criminal.”

Actor Maya Vishwanath was also present at the press conference.