Senior Malayalam actor Siddique resigned from his position as the general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) on Sunday, following serious allegations made by a fellow actor. The previous day, the actor accused Siddique of raping her when she was younger.
AMMA's vice president, Jayan Cherthala, confirmed the resignation, stating that Siddique could not continue in his role amid such serious accusations.
What the actor said against Siddique
The actor who made the allegations recounted her traumatic experience, saying, "I had big dreams when I entered the film industry. He invited me to a hotel room under the guise of discussing a film project. I approached it professionally, but I was trapped and sexually abused. It was rape... He slapped and kicked me. I had to flee from there. He is a number one criminal. Some of my friends had similar experiences with him. After this incident, I was sidelined in the industry. He presents a different face today, but if he looks in the mirror, he will see a criminal."
She also mentioned that some of her friends had suffered bad experiences with other influential figures in the industry. Referring to the Hema Committee report, she emphasized the importance of the government's next steps, saying, "We look forward to the Hema Committee report. What is important is the next step. We hope the government will prioritize this."
The Hema Committee Report
These allegations arise against the backdrop of the release of the Hema Committee report, which highlighted widespread sexual abuse in the Malayalam film industry. The report detailed the prevalence of the casting couch, where powerful men demand sexual favors from women in exchange for film opportunities, as well as instances of vulgar comments, and male co-actors forcing themselves into women's rooms, among other issues.
Additionally, on Friday, Bengali actor Sreelekha accused renowned Malayalam film director and chairman of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy, Ranjith, of misconduct in 2009. Speaking to the media, Sreelekha shared an incident related to Ranjith's film "Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha" from 2009.