Soon after he took over as the President of AMMA (Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes), Mohanlal convened a General Body Meeting. AMMA’s General Council reinstated controversial actor Dileep back into the association. Dileep was earlier banned from AMMA after being accused in the sensational assault case of a star Malayalam heroine.
AMMA’s decision angered many Artistes, freethinkers and even politicians. In a protest, a few actresses, who are also members of the Women in Cinema Collective, resigned from AMMA. More than 100 acclaimed Mollywood artistes and filmmakers wrote a letter to AMMA and condemned the association’s decision.
But what followed was a much bigger shock. Mohanlal released a letter in which he said that there were no vested interests in reinstating Dileep into AMMA. In a shocking gesture, Mohanlal went on to extend support to Dileep, saying that he was a victim of the ‘trial by media’. Needless to say, this further angered the protestors and they all started lashing out at Mohanlal for his nonsensical decision.