Shwetha Menon becomes AMMA president as female leaders take charge

For the first time, women have been elected to the top leadership of AMMA, with Shwetha Menon as president and Kukku Parameswaran as general secretary. State Cultural Affairs Minister Saji Cherian welcomed the development, calling it a milestone for gender representation in cinema

Kochi: For the first time in the history of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), women have been elected to its top leadership positions.

Actors Shwetha Menon and Kukku Parameswaran were elected as president and general secretary of the organisation, respectively. Ansiba Hasan was elected joint secretary, while Lakshmi Priya became vice president.

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“AMMA has become a woman now,” Menon said after defeating veteran actor Devan Sreenivasan for the top position. She thanked the 298 members who voted out of a total of 506.

Menon added that she does not believe there are men and women in cinema. “There are only characters,” she said.

Jayan Cherthala was also elected as vice president, and Unni Sivapal became treasurer. The 17-member executive committee has been elected for a three-year term.

State Cultural Affairs Minister Saji Cherian welcomed the development, stating that women should hold leadership positions in AMMA to create more opportunities for women in the film industry.

“It is for the first time that women are being elected to leadership positions in AMMA,” Cherian said. He congratulated Menon, Parameswaran, and Hasan, calling them competent and strong women.

He added, “Let them all work together. This is evidence of the changes being brought about in the film industry following the recently held cinema conclave. It also signals good times ahead for the Malayalam film industry.”

“I am not saying men are bad. For so long, men were heading it. Let women rule come now,” the minister added.

The previous AMMA executive committee, led by superstar Mohanlal, had resigned following allegations of sexual harassment against some of its members. The allegations surfaced after the release of the Justice Hema Committee report, established by the Kerala government following the 2017 actress assault case.