Shwetha Menon makes history as AMMA’s first woman president

For the first time since its inception, three women have come at the helm of affairs of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), an organization of the Malayalam film actors and actresses

In a keenly-contested election held in Kochi on Friday, actors, Shwetha Menon and Kukku Parameswaran, were elected president and general secretary of AMMA, defeating actors, Devan and Raveendran, respectively. Menon defeated veteran actor Devan by a majority of 17 votes in a close contest while Kukku Parameswaran defeated Raveendran by 57 votes. Lakshmipriya was elected as vice-president of the organisation, marking the first time in the organization’s history that women were leading from top positions. Jayan Cherthala was elected vice president, while Unni Shivpal took over as treasurer.

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Sarayu Mohan, Anjali Nair, Asha Aravind, Neena Kurup, Kailash, Santosh Keezhattur, Tini Tom, Joy Mathew, Vinu Mohan, Dr. Ronnie David Raj and Sijoy Varghese have been elected to the executive committee. Ansiba Hassan was also returned unopposed to the executive committee.

There are a total of 504 members in the association. There has been a big drop in the voting percentage this time. Last time, 357 people voted. This time despite the tough competition, only 298 people voted.

Following her win, Shwetha Menon said she was very happy to have been elected and expressed her intention to unify the organization.

The high-profile election was held after months of turmoil in the star organization, triggered by the Hema Committee report, subsequent controversies, internal rifts, and the resignation of president Mohanlal

The election process was clouded by controversy after a case was filed against Shwetha Menon by Martin Menachery in Ernakulam under Section 67A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Shwetha approached the Kerala High Court to have the case quashed,and the court stayed the proceedings lodged against her.