Shwetha Menon says fight is against Hema report accused, vows they won''t head AMMA

Kochi: AMMA President and actor Shwetha Menon on Tuesday said her fight was solely against the "power group" facing serious allegations in the Hema Committee report and asserted that such people would never be allowed to head the artistes' association as long as she remained there.

The Hema Committee report, commissioned by the Kerala government, examined allegations of sexual harassment, exploitation and workplace discrimination against women in the Malayalam film industry.

"My fight is against the power group facing serious allegations in the Hema Committee report. It is against them alone. At the last AGM, they tried to humiliate me and throw me out," Menon said in a Facebook post.


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"As long as I am here, those facing serious allegations in the Hema Committee report will never come to the helm of AMMA. I will go to any extent to make sure of that," she said.

Menon said she had deliberately avoided making public statements, but decided to respond because, according to her, those accused in the Hema Committee report were repeatedly trying to insult her personally and divert attention from the issues she had raised.

"Those accused in the Hema Committee report are continuing to use some people within the organisation as their front to repeatedly insult me personally and divert attention from the real issues," Menon, president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes, said.

Her fight against them was not new and that she had always stood by their victims.

"My fight against them did not begin today or yesterday. I have always stood by their victims. It was never to gain media attention or for any personal benefit," Menon said.

She also alleged that she was personally targeted after raising questions about financial irregularities.

"When I raised questions about the financial irregularities of some among them, instead of answering those questions, I was subjected to personal insults," she claimed.

Menon alleged that false stories were being spread about her while the issues she had raised were being ignored.

"The real issues I raised are being buried, while false stories about me are being spread," she said, adding that she had remained silent until now because she believed there was no need to respond to "baseless allegations".

She also said that even the "corruption allegations" acknowledged by actor Ramesh Pisharody were not being discussed.

"I will not be intimidated. I will not be silenced. I will not surrender. I will not back down. The truth deserves to be heard. AMMA deserves better," she added.

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She said the issues she had raised were not being discussed amid the ongoing controversy.

Responding to allegations against her, Menon dismissed as illogical the claim that she had accepted crores of rupees from a national party to help find candidates in Kerala.

"I still do not understand the logic behind the allegation that a national party, which has been ruling the country for the past 12 years, had to pay me crores of rupees to find candidates in Kerala," she said.

Rejecting claims about her political affiliation, Menon said she had no reason to hide it.

"If I belonged to any political party, why would I need to hide it. If I openly said so, would I suffer any loss? No," she said, adding that AMMA's Executive Committee included members aligned with the CPI(M), the Congress and the BJP.

AMMA is facing an internal power struggle after Menon withdrew her resignation as its president, challenged the move to appoint an ad hoc committee, and continued in office with a court stay.

In a letter to members, she reportedly said the executive committee had begun correcting its "lapses caused by lack of experience" and would continue to discharge its responsibilities with greater responsibility.