Malayalam actor Siddique quits AMMA general secretary post over rape allegation

Senior Malayalam actor Siddique resigned from the post of general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), a prominent actors’ body in Kerala, following rape and sexual assault allegations from an actress.

Siddique, who acted in over 350 films predominantly in Malayalam, confirmed to Asianet TV, “I have conveyed my resignation to the president of AMMA Mohanlal. I have taken the decision in the light of the allegations raised against me. It’s not fit for me to continue in that post. I would not like to talk about the allegations right now.”

The decision to resign came a day after an actress reiterated her allegations of sexual assault and rape that she had first made in 2019 through a Facebook post. The alleged incident took place in a hotel in 2016.

“I was a young entrant in the industry at the time. He invited me into a hotel on the pretext of discussing a film project. Such a movie did not exist. It was a trap. He sexually abused and raped me. He also physically assaulted me. I had to give up my dreams and my time, and I went through a lot of mental trauma,” the actress told media persons on Saturday.

The allegations against Siddique, who was elected to the general secretary post through an internal election of AMMA for a three-year term earlier this year, come in the backdrop of the release of the Hema committee report, which has shed light on the incidents of sexual abuse and harassment against women artists and technicians, in the Malayalam film industry.

The committee was set up in 2017 after a prominent actress was kidnapped and sexually assaulted in a moving car by a group of men, which was allegedly orchestrated by actor Dileep. He currently faces charges of criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence, and the trial in the case is pending.

Though the report was submitted to the government in 2009, it took over four and a half years for its contents to come out, with some of the portions containing testimonies of harassment and abuse being redacted.

When asked about the report, Siddique had told media persons on Friday, “We welcome the report and its findings. The government should implement the recommendations of the committee, as it will lead to improvement in the working conditions in the industry.”

At the same time, he denied the existence of a ‘casting couch’ in the industry and attributed the testimonies in the Hema report to a ‘few isolated incidents’. He also dismissed allegations about an all-male ‘power group’ in the industry that dictates everything.