The leadership tussle within the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) has entered a new phase after the actors Joy Mathew, Jayan Cherthala and Kailash formally resigned from the executive committee led by Shwetha Menon.
The resignations follow the debate on the ad hoc committee
The resignations came shortly after Shwetha Menon publicly challenged the legitimacy of the ad hoc committee through a detailed statement on social media. In her post, she maintained that she continues to hold the position of AMMA president because she has not formally resigned from the position.Earlier, members of the ad hoc committee had claimed that neither Shwetha Menon nor any member of its executive committee had officially submitted letters of resignation. Although the dissolution of the executive committee was announced during the association’s annual general meeting held last month.The ad hoc committee, headed by Ramesh Pisharody, has already started functioning and recently held its first meeting while the leadership issue remains unresolved.
Jayan Cherthala and Kailash explain their decision
Speaking to On Manorama, about his resignation, Kailash confirmed that he had resigned from the executive committee. However, he described it as a personal decision and did not elaborate.Jayan Cherthala also confirmed his resignation with the same portal, stating that his decision was guided by ethical considerations. According to him, the announcement made before the General Assembly deserved to be respected.He said: “Our dissolution was announced before the members met in the general body. According to the organizational hierarchy, this decision is valid because it was taken before the general body. There may be legal arguments that the decision is invalid, but I respect the general body and the decisions made there.”Jayan also revealed that he was the first of the three to resign, followed later by Joy Mathew and Kailash.Meanwhile, Joy Mathew stated that she no longer saw any purpose in remaining with an organization that had split. He is said to have argued that legally, Shwetha Menon remains president of the association because she has not submitted an official letter of resignation.
Shwetha Menon says she won’t quit
Shwetha Menon reiterated that she has no plans to resign from her position until she clears her name and proves her innocence regarding the allegations made against her executive committee.In a statement shared on Instagram, he wrote, “I have been silent all these days for the sake of AMMA. I thought that if I remained silent, the controversies surrounding AMMA would come to an end. But as my reputation is continuously being attacked and tarnished, I will not quit without proving my innocence.”She added: “Today they are saying that I betrayed the members… that I left AMMA. No… I have not betrayed anyone, nor have I left AMMA. At the AMMA Annual General Meeting held on June 21, 2026, a few people (10-15 AMMA members to be exact) came to the meeting planned with a prior resignation from our Executive Committee.They circulated a pre-printed resolution containing several baseless allegations against our Executive Committee. We had clear, factual and legally sound responses to each and every one of these allegations.”The actor stated, “Although this resolution was handed over to me, it was never passed under Article XII (e) of the AMMA Statutes. Out of the 243 members who attended the meeting, it did not secure the required two-thirds majority of 162 votes. Therefore, the resolution was not passed and has no legal validity.Today they claim that the Ad-Hoc Committee was established based on the decision of the General Council”.
Leadership uncertainty continues
AMMA’s leadership crisis remains unresolved with three members now formally resigning and Shwetha Menon continuing to dispute the legal position of the ad hoc committee. All eyes are now on the association’s next move as members await greater clarity on the leadership issue.