Following the several sexual harassment allegations that have been raised after the publishing of the Hema Committee report, the executive committee members of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), including its president and veteran actor Mohanlal, have resigned.

The statement, which was released by AMMA on Tuesday afternoon, announcing the resignations, said, “Following the release of the Hema Committee report, and in light of the sexual allegations that were raised in various media against some committee members, the executive committee is facing up to its moral responsibility and resigning. A new committee will be formed following a general body meeting in two months.”

The statement added that AMMA’s charity work will continue and the current executive committee will continue on a temporary basis. “Our hope is that a new committee that is capable of rebuilding and strengthening AMMA will take charge,” concluded the statement.

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Sajin Baabu, director of Biriyaani, was accused of alleged sexual misconduct by two women after he put up an online post lauding the Hema Committee Report. In response to the allegations, Sajin says, “I can’t undo what I’ve done. I apologize and ensure that over the past several years I have not and will not repeat this behaviour.”

Calling the second incident “untrue”, the director adds, “The first incident took place around 2013-14, and I had apologized several times to the woman and we had established that the matter had been resolved. In 2017, I was made known the untrue facts surrounding the second incident reported to the members of the WCC (Women in Cinema Collective) members. When I spoke about this to the WCC, I also tried to contact her (the second woman), but she was not willing to come to a meeting. So, I did not provoke her and just said I’ve made mistakes, because I, too, want to put this behind me and get on with my projects.” — Anna Mathews