Shwetha Menon, first woman president of AMMA, resigns as no-confidence motion triggers mass resignation of the committee
Shwetha Menon’s tenure as president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) came to a sudden end on Sunday, June 21, when the organization’s entire executive committee resigned en masse. The mass resignation followed a heated annual general body meeting where members moved a formal no-confidence motion against the leadership, exposing deep rifts within the body.
The committee had made history when it took office in 2025, marking the very first time two women held the organization’s top leadership positions, with Cuckoo Parameswaran serving alongside Shwetha as general secretary. However, their milestone term was continually plagued by internal arguments and administrative issues.
A routine annual meeting quickly escalated into a tense showdown. As growing frustration among the members turned into an official push to remove the leaders, the entire elected team chose to step down, plunging the prominent film body into a major leadership crisis.
Shwetha Menon explains the circumstances
Shwetha Menon spoke to reporters after the meeting to explain what caused the mass resignation, calling out major administrative failures within the organization. She pointed out that the trouble started when the association’s office manager was fired and went to the police. “When the AMMA office manager was terminated and subsequently filed a police complaint, the matter was not addressed properly. Instead, the treasurer went missing, which meant we could not present the accounts for that period,” Shwetha explained, as reported by Manorama Online.
However, she clarified that the bookkeeping was sorted out later in the year, noting, “From September 1 onward, all financial records were properly maintained.”
Sharing her personal feelings about stepping down from her role, she concluded with a direct and honest remark: “I can only say that I am relieved that I am no longer an AMMA member.”
Speaking to ANI, she added, “I am not going to be someone’s play doll… And since we did not have any treasurer in our committee, we could not surface proper accounts… We pointed out all the mistakes, but the main mistake was from the previous committee, the accounts of which were all wrong. The dealings were in cash, less in white money… This was happening for many months… I am relieved to have come out of the committee… I am feeling bad for the people in the committee, apart from some of them…”
Divisions emerge during the meeting
The meeting exposed sharp divisions among the senior members of the organization. During the discussions, actor Ganesh Kumar reportedly backed the outgoing leadership, whereas veteran actor Mohanlal decided to stay neutral. Their opposing stances clearly highlighted the deeper, long-simmering rift that has been tearing the group apart over the last few months.
Shwetha Menon faced legal hurdles right from her presidential campaign, including an obscenity case filed over her past acting roles. Addressing the issue at the India Today Conclave in September 2025, she shared her shock at the timing of the lawsuit. She questioned the motives behind the complaint, pointing out that the legal action targeted creative work she had completed more than ten years prior.
Months of controversy and rising dissent
According to a report by The News Minute, former joint secretary Ansiba Hassan stepped down earlier after alleging that she faced harassment and communal targeting from specific members. She had also strongly objected to partnering with religious groups for event sponsorships.
The tension peaked in May when AMMA faced heavy backlash over its sponsorship deal with the Vennala Thykattu Sri Mahadeva Temple Trust for a reunion event, which triggered a larger debate regarding the organization’s funding choices. The group faced further internal criticism when vice-president Lakshmipriya raised doubts about transparency and decision-making, while actor Mala Parvathy openly questioned the committee’s poor information-sharing practices.
In the middle of this controversy, Shwetha Menon spoke up to defend the organization’s sponsorship choices. She maintained that because AMMA operates as a charitable entity, it should not reject financial support based on political or religious backgrounds. For her, the association’s absolute priority had to remain the financial and personal welfare of its members.
A repeated cycle of leadership instability
This is not the first time AMMA has been hit by a major crisis. Back in 2024, the previous leadership team, headed by Mohanlal, also resigned in the wake of the Hema Committee report, which exposed deep-rooted issues and sparked intense demands for reform across the Malayalam film industry.
