Dear Amma, spare us from the pungent odor

There’s a pungent odor in the air. And it seems to be emanating from the vaunted portals of Amma. For the uninitiated unlucky lot: Amma used to have only one meaning: mother. But that was in the past. A not-so-surreptitious bastardization of this benign word happened with the Malayalam film actors coming together and naming their association after Amma, as an acronym for Association of Malayalam Movie Actors, several years ago. This innocuous baptizing act would have remained innocuous but for the wicked ways in which this association has been functioning. The shenanigans of Amma have not gone through any public scrutiny thanks to the kind of veneration and adulation its members – the movie stars – continue to enjoy among the gullible masses.

The unAmma ways of Amma were in their ugly display recently when its members – venerable actors and Amma office-bearers – did a modern-day vaudeville act before journalists in the wake of an alleged kidnap and assault of a young actress in April this year. Though the actress escaped unhurt the incident was an indicator of the murky dealings that lie underneath the film industry. It is rumored that the kidnap was the culmination of a real-estate deal gone horribly wrong. (The allegation of mafia dealings in the Malayalam film industry is as hackneyed and trite as many of the film plots.) The accused – a charming ruffian who is now under police custody – used to moonlight as the driver of an actor for two years, with deep contacts in the film industry to boot.

The remixed vaudeville act aka press meet, following Amma’s general body meeting, was held after Dileep, a popular actor, was grilled by the police for hours in connection with the kidnap-assault incident. As two stars – Mammootty and Mohanlal – remained mute spectators in the press meet, two actors and Amma office-bearers exhibited their authority laced with a bit of chest-thumping to declare that the Amma meeting didn’t discuss the assault issue as though it was unworthy of discussion. Questions from journalists were silenced with angry outbursts. They declared that the Amma is with its two ‘children’ (the actor who was grilled and the actress who was assaulted). The apparent bid by Amma’s ‘children’ to declare the actor squeaky-clean and to establish that everything is hunky-dory appeared to have boomeranged.

Not everything is bad with Amma, mind you. The association extends financial assistance to old and out-of-job actors. But more than such welfare schemes, Amma is infamous for something else: it suffers from a peculiar kind of disease called Obsessive Compulsive Ban Disorder, wherein it would ban any artist whom it thinks unfit. In fact, it has perfected it as an impeccable art. Many have fallen victims to this disorder. The prominent one being the late Thilakan, considered one of the greatest actors of Indian cinema, who was shunted out like an outcast criminal. He fell victim to the ugly whims and perverted fancies of those who steer the wheels of Amma. Like an all-powerful feudal lord, Amma banned the ageing actor from acting, and in the process he lost many acting roles. Even today nobody has any clue as to the ‘crimes’ committed by Thilakan other than the fact that the petty-mindedness and petty politics of Amma members were the trigger. Underlings and minions who usually do the dirty bidding at the superstars’ behalf were deployed to ‘teach’ the veteran actor a ‘lesson’ or two. They would hold press conference, read out the chargesheet against Thilakan, and pronounce him guilty like a kangaroo court would declare a desperado guilty before hanging in a Sergio Leone Spaghetti western!

Anyone who doesn’t fall in line or holds a different point of view from that of the Amma office-bearers (read the top stars and others who pull the strings) are punished with bans (sometimes life-time ban), which virtually deny them the fundamental right to work. Another target by Amma has been film director Vinayan. Any technician or artist who associated with him were also banned. (The late Mala Aravindan, a prominent yesteryear comedian, was banned for a year for committing the cardinal sin of acting in a Vinayan movie). Vinayan petitioned the Competition Commission of India (CCI) because the ban was an infringement on his right to job. The CCI in March 2017 ruled that both Amma and FEFKA, another film employees’ association, indulged in anti-competitive practices in banning Vinayan. The CCI imposed fine on various office-bearers of both the associations. The Commission’s ruling, a tight slap on Amma’s high-handedness, stands testament to the undemocratic ways in which this association functions.   

To the exception of a few, the mostly superstar-studded films are burdened with common sense-denying obtuse plots and pointless detritus from the retro era. The stars and their cohorts, while basking in the self-delusional stardom and uppity, are least bothered because they are sustained, inter alia, by a well-entrenched and thriving fan industry. The only solace is that the Malayalam film industry is at the cusp of a refreshing change with a lot of youngsters entering the scene. But will it be possible with Amma with its patriarchal, feudal, and ban-happy avatar at the helm is the question.