Asha Prakash (BOMBAY TIMES; June 12, 2018)

South actress Shwetha Menon has filed a complaint with the cyber police in Mumbai and Kerala, after she received threatening calls on Sunday morning from unknown numbers. Shwetha had been invited to be a member of the executive committee of Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) on the same day, and she suspects that the call has to do with the nomination.

“I got a call inviting me to be a member of the executive committee, and I said it’s an honour. Simultaneously, I’m getting threatening calls. I’m in Mumbai and had no clue what it meant. Then I saw the news of my nomination on media and realised that the two must be connected,” she says. One caller apparently said something like, “I called to say something. The same industry will betray you too,” to Shwetha.

Earlier last year, AMMA president Innocent, as well as executive members Mukesh and Ganesh Kumar, came under fire for supporting Dileep, who had been arrested by the police in connection with the rape of a Malayalam actress. Subsequently, AMMA had removed Dileep from the association and Innocent had expressed his wish to step down.

This year, following the formation of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) which demanded equal representation of women in every field, there had been rumours that AMMA would have women as well as young actors among the executive members.

However, Shwetha doesn’t feel that the position of executive will bestow her with any new power. “I will still be a member. There have been female executive members before, and in every election, there are new members,” she says. So is she going ahead with the new position? “I’m an AMMA member. And for me, to get upgraded to an executive member is an honour,” she replies.