Leadership dispute within Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) enters new phase after actor Joey Matthew, Jayan Cherthala Kailash formally resigns from executive committee he heads Rita Menon.
Resigned after ad hoc committee debate
Shwetha Menon submitted her resignation shortly after she publicly questioned the legitimacy of the ad hoc committee through a detailed social media statement. During her tenure, she insisted that she would continue to serve as AMMA president as she had not officially resigned from the position.Earlier, members of the ad hoc committee had said that neither Shwetha Menon nor any member of her executive team had formally submitted her resignation letter. This is despite the executive committee announcing the dissolution at the association’s annual general meeting last month.The ad hoc committee headed by Ramesh Pisharody has started functioning and held its first meeting recently, but the leadership issue remains unresolved.
Jayan Cherthala and Kailash explain their decision
Kailash spoke about his resignation in an interview with On Manorama, where he confirmed that he had resigned from the executive committee. However, he said it was a personal decision and did not elaborate further.Jayan Cherthala also confirmed his resignation on the same portal and said his decision was based on ethical considerations. He said the announcements made before the conference deserved respect.“Our disbandment was announced before all members gathered. The decision had validity according to the organizational hierarchy because it was made in front of the general assembly,” he said. There may be legal arguments that invalidate the decision, but I respect the institution as a whole and the decision that was made there. “Jayan further revealed that he was the first among the three to resign, followed by Joy Mathew and Kailash.Meanwhile, Joey Mathew reportedly said he no longer sees any point in staying with the already divided organization. He is said to have maintained that from a legal perspective, Shwetha Menon is still the president of the association as she has not yet submitted her formal resignation letter.
Shwetha Menon says she won’t step down
Shwetha Menon reiterated that she has no plans to relinquish her position until she clears her name and proves her innocence against the charges brought by the executive committee.In a statement shared on Instagram, she wrote, “These days I am staying silent for the sake of AMMA. I thought if I stayed silent, the controversy surrounding AMMA would be over. But as my reputation is constantly being attacked and tarnished, I will not step down without proving my innocence.”She added, “Today, they are saying that I betrayed the members… I abandoned AMMA. No… I did not betray anyone and I did not abandon AMMA. At the annual general meeting of AMMA on June 21, 2026, some people (10-15 AMMA members to be exact) came to the meeting with a pre-planned agenda to force the resignation of our executive committee.They circulated a preprinted resolution containing several baseless accusations against our executive committee. We have clear, fact-based, legal and reasonable answers to every allegation. “The actor said: “Although the resolution was handed over to me, it was never adopted in accordance with Article XII(e) of AMMA’s constitution. The resolution failed to obtain the required two-thirds majority of 162 votes out of the 243 members present at the meeting. Therefore, the resolution was not adopted and has no legal effect.”Today, they claim that the ad hoc committee was established based on a decision of the General Assembly. “
Leadership uncertainty persists
AMMA’s leadership crisis remains unresolved, with three members now formally resigning and Shwetha Menon continuing to challenge the ad hoc committee’s legal status. All eyes are now on the association’s next steps, with members awaiting further clarity on leadership issues.