AMMA Suspends Thilakan

[minisoji]

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After a verbal duel lasting for weeks, Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) Monday suspended veteran actor Thilakan for his `unbearable' attacks on the outfit that had `harmed its reputation.'

The decision to suspend Thilakan from AMMA membership was taken at a meeting of the five-member disciplinary panel of the organisation that met here.

AMMA president Innocent and panel member T P Madhavan told reporters that Thilakan had been making provocative statements against his colleagues in the industry even after a notice was given to him to appear before the disciplinary panel Monday.

They felt that his choosing not to appear before the panel was `deliberate.' The problem could not be solved without co-operation from his part. Thilakan had been given time till March 8 to come out with a credible explanation or appear in person before the committee, they said.

Innocent said Thilakan, instead of presenting his problems before AMMA had gone public about the denial of chance in a film and hurled charges against those in the industry. Legal steps would be taken against Thilakan's statement that he was not getting AMMA's monthly financial aid of Rs 2,500 being given to senior artistes, he said.

Reacting sharply to the decision, Thilakan said AMMA was responsible for harming his reputation. He would decide later whether to give explanation to the AMMA panel before March 8. "Only AMMA will stand to lose if I am expelled," he added.

Thilakan and AMMA had been embroiled in a war of words for the last few weeks with charges and counter-charges from both sides, prompting many from the film and cultural field including eminent critic and orator Sukumar Azhikode taking up the issue.

While Thilakan maintained that he was denied chance in the film 'Christian Brothers' at the instance of Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) with the silent backing of a superstar, AMMA countered it by saying the actor was making irresponsible statements.

The debate hotted up when popular actor Mohanlal and AMMA vice president K B Ganesh Kumar questioned Azhikode for 'interfering' in the film industry's affairs.

Stating that he had the right to question the 'injustice' meted out to Thilakan, Azhikode launched a series of attacks on superstars.

The bitter row appeared to end on Saturday when superstar Mammootty offered a truce saying AMMA would settle the issue and would not indulge in public debate any longer. But the star himself backtracked later, apparently under pressure from his colleagues.

An angry Thilakan said Monday Mammootty's role in the 'entire drama' was to appease him before the 'real kill' planned in the backstage.

"AMMA is now merely an organisation of two or three actors and their sycophants. All others are treated as their slaves," he alleged.

The actor said he would wait till March 8 for further developments and think of moving court against the denial of job to him by "vested interests" in the film industry.