Actress Parvathy Thiruvothu strongly criticised the mass resignation of the Mohanlal-led executive panel of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) over the scandalous report of sexual harassment. She called it an ‘act of cowardice’ and said that there is a dictatorial rule in the film association. She also said that she happily resigned from the association as people are not allowed to speak.

In an interview with Barkha Dutt Mojo StoryParvati recalled her first reaction to the dissolution of the entire governing body. “When I heard the news about the mass resignation, the first thought that came to my mind was – ‘How cowardly’. How cowardly are they to step down from a position where they are now accountable for speaking to the media? Again, the onus is on us women to take the conversation and debate forward,” said Parvati.

He criticised the association, saying, “It would have been surprising if they had at least shown an intention to work together with the government and stakeholders. This is the same executive committee that welcomed the prime accused (Dileep) in the sexual harassment case when the case was still ongoing. This is the same executive committee that claimed none of this actually existed until the allegations against them surfaced.”

Parvati also accused the government of negligence. She said, “The government was negligent in even making a statement that ‘if women have complaints, they should just file an FIR and name names’. The entire responsibility of naming and shaming is put on women and then they have to bear the brunt of it. My question is what is the proof of justice that you show and then demand that we name and shame. After that, what happens to us in our careers, lives, legal fees and mental health issues – nobody cares about that.”

The ‘Thangalan’ actress believes that women are always blamed for problems that are not caused by them. “When will men come forward? Come forward in front of each other in front of their community? Obviously, they are part of the problem. They are the problem. I have a lot of respect for the women who are coming forward and the collective (Women in Cinema Collective) stands with them. But, it is unnecessary that they were forced to do this when the Hema Committee report should have been implemented long ago. Already, justice is being delayed,” she said.

“And when the report comes out, you blame them. We, as allies, trying to support the government, have done everything as per the rules, and yet we are forced to take the path of caution,” Parvati said.

The actress also claimed that she is not surprised by the decision of mass resignation. “To be honest, I am not surprised. I have been a part of AMMA before and I have seen how they work. That is why I happily resigned from the association. There is no one they can fool with this kind of behaviour. Forget saying something in support, the first option of action is to cover it up and then defame the women who have come forward. Society is seeing them for who they are,” she remarked.

Parvathy also highlighted how AMMA has a fear-mongering system, where people cannot speak up for their rights. Elaborating further, she said, “AMMA has a very large number of members and I think they would benefit from having better leadership at this time. Maybe this disruption will be good for the association. In this case, I am with AMMA members, who deserve better for their membership fees. It is a fear-mongering environment, and you cannot speak up for your rights. It was definitely an authoritarian place.”

On August 27, the Mohanlal-led AMMA’s apex governing body resigned days after the Hema Committee report was made public. It exposed sexual harassment, casting couch practices, lobbying, pay disparity and systemic issues.

Following the explosive report, several women came forward with their stories and accused the executive members – Siddique, Baburaj and Jeeyan – of sexual misconduct.