Shwetha Menon vows to keep accused from leading AMMA as she battles the Hema Committee fallout

On Tuesday evening, AMMA president Shwetha Menon took to Facebook to lay out, in her own words, what the simmering controversy is really about. She said her battle is not with the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) itself, but with a "power group" that the recently released Hema Committee report has singled out for serious misconduct.

The Hema Committee, set up by the Kerala government, dug into accusations of sexual harassment, exploitation and workplace discrimination that have haunted Malayalam cinema for years. Its findings named a handful of industry insiders – people many consider influential – as being directly involved.

"My fight is against the power group facing serious allegations in the Hema Committee report. It is against them alone. At the last AGM they tried to humiliate me and throw me out," Menon wrote, adding that as long as she remains in the association, "those facing serious allegations... will never come to the helm of AMMA."

She told supporters she had tried to stay silent for a while, hoping the issues would be addressed on their own merits. But, according to her, the accused kept “using some people within the organisation as their front to repeatedly insult me personally and divert attention from the real issues.”

Menon stressed that her stance predates the latest uproar. "My fight against them did not begin today or yesterday. I have always stood by their victims. It was never to gain media attention or for any personal benefit," she asserted.

She also claimed she was personally targeted after raising queries about financial irregularities within the same circle. "When I raised questions about the financial irregularities of some among them, instead of answering those questions, I was subjected to personal insults," she said.

Adding fuel to the fire, Menon accused a rival faction of spreading false stories about her, effectively burying the genuine concerns she raised. "The real issues I raised are being buried, while false stories about me are being spread," she lamented, insisting she had held back from responding earlier because the allegations against her were "baseless."

She brushed aside a sensational claim that a national ruling party had handed her crores of rupees to find election candidates in Kerala, calling it “illogical”. "If I belonged to any political party, why would I need to hide it? If I openly said so, would I suffer any loss? No," Menon replied, noting that AMMA’s executive committee includes members from the CPI(M), the Congress and even the BJP.

The internal power struggle intensifies after Menon rescinded her earlier resignation, challenged the formation of an ad‑hoc committee and continued to lead AMMA under a court stay. In a recent letter to members, she said the executive committee is correcting “lapses caused by lack of experience” and will discharge its duties with “greater responsibility”.

Across the industry, reactions are split. Some applaud Menon’s unapologetic stand against alleged perpetrators, while others warn that a prolonged feud could further destabilise an already fragile artists’ body. One thing is clear, however: the battle over the Hema Committee’s findings is far from over, and Shwetha Menon intends to stay right in the thick of it.