Turmoil in Tinsel Town: Malayalam movie actors’ fights turn from reel to real

On June 21, 2026, a balmy Sunday morning, Malayalam movie stars had started arriving in their luxury vehicles at a convention centre in Ernakulam.

Waving and exchanging pleasantries with a battery of media persons who eagerly clicked pictures and took visuals of the stars of tinsel town, they walked into the conference hall where the annual general body meeting of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) was scheduled to be held.

Inside the hall, they smiled and hugged each other, shook hands with some, and engaged in small talk. The atmosphere was all amiable, pleasant and genial.

None had an idea that it was the calm before the storm.

A few minutes into the proceedings, a raging Shwetha Menon, the first woman president of the actors’ body, stormed out of the meeting, announcing her resignation from the post.

It was a no-confidence motion moved against her by a section of the members that provoked Shwetha to announce her resignation. An incensed Shwetha also announced that she was quitting from the primary membership of the organisation.

The war of words begins

What unfolded after her announcement was a full-fledged war of words among various actors, reportedly owing allegiance to various factions and groups in the organisation.

Shwetha, who was elected to the president’s post less than a year ago, defends her decision to call it a day. “I decided to quit as I was unwilling to be a puppet in the organisation,” she asserts.

The latest crisis in the actors’ body began with Ansiba Hassan, who had stepped down as joint secretary of the organisation four months ago, accusing her former colleague on the executive committee Tiny Tom of making communal and defamatory remarks against her. Thus began the ugliest public spat among the members the association, having a strength of around 500 actors, since its formation.

A slew of incidents and police complaints by warring members followed the tempestuous annual general body meeting.

“It was a historic meeting on all counts,” notes Ansiba, who shot to fame through the Mohanlal-starrer Drishyam franchise, about the outcome of the meeting.

Courtroom battles

The simmering distrust in the association has now boiled over to a protracted courtroom battle.

On her part, Shwetha reversed her decision to step down and opposed the formation of an ad-hoc committee to run the affairs of the association till new office-bearers are elected. The Ernakulam Munsiff Court has stayed the functioning of the ad-hoc body till it issues further directives.

Launched in 1994 after several actors voiced support “for an organisation to protect the interests of the fraternity,” the association of actors seems to be facing its biggest existential crisis as the rival camps seem to be in no mood to relent.

Hema Committee report

Almost two years ago, the organisation had faced a similar crisis after the 17-member executive committee led by Mohanlal stepped down “following the release of the Hema Committee report and widespread media attention regarding sexual harassment allegations against some office-bearers.”

The current situation, says actor Joy Mathew, is the outcome of the lack of an able leadership aware of how to run an organisation efficiently.

“We need people who are conversant with democratic values. The association has reduced to a space driven by factional feud mixed with those having a thirst for unbridled power. As most of the elected members had contested individually and not as a panel, the ruling dispensation lacks a common programme or vision,” observes Joy, who resigned from the executive committee led by Shwetha amidst the continuing deadlock.

The internal rift worsened after a section of the members questioned the leadership over alleged funding by corporates and sponsorships from individuals who had earlier faced various allegations. Besides holding star-studded stage shows in association with television channels to generate revenue, the association has been accepting donations to carry out welfare programmes, including financial assistance to ailing members.

“I was 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 the association,” says Ansiba.

“The sponsorship was initially agreed at ₹1 crore but was later reduced to ₹75 lakh. I don’t know what happened to the remaining ₹25 lakh,” she alleges.

Differences over sponsorship

The differences over accepting sponsorship without checking the credentials of the donors had escalated after actor Maala Parvathi came up with an audio clip purportedly featuring the voice of a woman leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claiming that a major business group would have donated ₹15 crore to the association if Shwetha had continued at the helm.

“We suspect whether Shwetha’s insistence on clinging to the post was somehow linked to a quid pro quo arrangement involving the said funding,” alleges Maala Parvathi. “The association does not need corporate funding. While members may hold political beliefs, they cannot impose party agendas within the organisation,” she says.

Actor Baburaj, former joint secretary of the association, unleashed a scathing attack on Shwetha and accused her of collecting commission for providing candidates from within the organisation to contest in the Kerala Assembly elections on BJP ticket. “The panel led by Shwetha also failed to submit proper accounting statements before the members. The treatment meted out to Ansiba was unjust as the leadership claimed that it has nothing to do with her complaint,” he alleges.

Shwetha’s stance

Shwetha, who has mostly responded to the allegations through her social media handles, rejects the charges.

“I do not understand the logic behind the allegation that a national party that has been in power for more than 12 years will have to give me money to get candidates in Kerala. I have no reason to hide my political affiliations, if any, as the association’s executive panel has members of varying political affiliations, including the Congress, Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the BJP,” she says.

In a letter sent to the members, she says that her panel has realised “the lapses that occurred due to lack of experience.” “We have initiated the required corrective measures within the organisation. However, I will go to any extent to make sure that those named in the Hema Committee report will not lead the association. My fight is against the power group that humiliated me and tried to expel me from the annual general body meeting,” she asserts.

Patriarchal structure

The latest episode has exposed the systemic chinks within an organisation struggling to deal with the challenges faced by it and come out of its long-standing image of being a patriarchal structure.

As actors Revathy and Padmapriya point out in a social media post: the “association was meant to stand as a collective voice for all actors. But it has become increasingly shaped by patriarchy and power politics, weakening its founding ideals.” The duo were among those who stepped down recently.

The two, who are also the founding members of the Women in Cinema Collective, say that the resignations after the Hema Committee report on the problems faced by women in the Malayalam film industry were not an act of principle. “They were an escape from accountability. Once the attention faded, the same old order returned. Power keeps finding new ways to protect itself. The faces change. The methods change. But the structures enabling inequality remain untouched,” they observe.

The seeds of discontent fuelled by allegations that some vested interests were trying to sneak their agenda into the association had prompted voices in Malayalam cinema to raise an alarm.

‘Threat to secular character’

“Malayalam cinema has to remain alert against attempts by the Sangh Parivar to destabilise the secular character of Kerala society,” warns senior filmmaker Kamal.

“It is a fact that such attempts have been visible in Malayalam cinema and it remains a matter of concern. It was disturbing to hear reports that communally loaded references were reportedly made against Ansiba. The senior actors in Malayalam cinema, who had always remained secular, should address the concerns raised by her,” he suggests.

Amidst the high-decibel internal bickering, a few senior members have come forward and highlighted the need to protect the interests of its members. “This organisation holds a lot of relevance in society. It is a big support system for many ailing members, and we cannot allow it to get derailed,” feels K.B. Ganesh Kumar, actor and former Minister.

“We have to realise that the association was formed to create and develop fellowship among the members and help those requiring support,” reminds actor Raveendran. “There may be differences of views among the members, and it may go out of control too. But we are unanimous in the feeling that nobody should try to disintegrate the association,” he adds.

Actor Jayan Cherthala, who resigned from the executive committee led by Shwetha, says all have to abide by the decisions taken at the general body meeting. “There is no point washing our dirty linen in public. The general body is the highest decision-making platform of the organisation,” he says.

Despite such calls for unity, there are no immediate signs of a thaw among the feuding factions as the association stares at fresh uncertainty following the ongoing legal tussle.

Actor-turned-politician Ramesh Pisharody, who stepped down from the post of the convener of the ad-hoc committee, says that the body will be ready for the next election of office-bearers by the time the court delivers its final verdict.

“How can a person who publicly announced her resignation from the primary membership of the association approach the court as its president to question the formation of the ad-hoc committee?” he asks. “We are here not to engage in a street fight, but to ensure the welfare of our members,” he says.

However, Shwetha is yet to relent and seems determined to continue her fight. “I will not surrender and back down,” she asserts.

The organisation stares at a bleak future as the warring stars are determined to take the fight to newer levels.