Following actors Siddique and KPAC Lalitha's controversial press meet on Monday, AMMA spokesperson Jagadeesh declared that none of the statements made by the duo were discussed with the Executive Committee or AMMA president Mohanlal earlier.
"Siddique just unilaterally made those announcements. None of it was discussed with the AMMA Executive Committee prior to the press meet. He made KPAC Lalitha a scapegoat," the actor told TNM.
The actor said that several points made by Siddique contradicted those made by AMMA during it's Executive Meeting. "Mohanlal had clearly said that he will call a General Body meeting soon to discuss Dileep's issue. The woman actors are reacting emotionally, and aren't some of their concerns legitimate? Why did Siddique say there will be no General Body till next June," Jagadeesh said.
Jagadeesh added that post the WCC press meet on Saturday, he had discussed with Mohanlal, and then with Mohanlal's approval, he had publicly shared a press statement. In that statement released on Monday morning, Jagadeesh had asked WCC not to put the blame on Mohanlal alone and that all the decisions taken regarding Dileep was a collective one. He had however ended the press note in an amicable way telling Revathy, Parvathy and Padmapriya that they could solve all issues with 'love and understanding'.
But all that changed as Siddique went on the offensive against WCC.
"In a conversation I had with Mohanlal, he clearly told me that he would happily welcome back the four actors who had resigned. I had made the press statement after Mohanlal made a few corrections, in a WhatsApp group with all EC members, most people congratulated me for the stand. Just when we were feeling relieved for taking a moral stand came this press meet by Siddique. He first said that I am not a spokesperson, he is wrong. He also told the media that the three actors (Geethu, Rima and Remya) must apologise for AMMA to take them back," Jagadeesh said.
In his press meet, Siddique had said that the survivor too must apologise to be welcomed back into AMMA. To this Jagadeesh said that this was a morally wrong stand and was not AMMA's decision. "She (the survivor) has endured a lot. If if you don't want to console her, don't put her through more difficulty. Her contributions to the association is also valuable. Is this the kind of support we should be offering her? Siddique even asked the survivor to name the director who had deprived her a chance on Dileep's insistence. Is that a way to speak to her,?" he asked.
Stating that he was shocked by KPAC Lalitha's comment that 'such things should be sorted out in the privacy of our homes'.Jagadeesh added, "How can she say that? All these problems are happening because of things getting repressed for long," he said.
Editor's note: Though Jagadeesh had said that the press meet was held at Dileep's movie's set, filmmaker B Unnikrishnan clarified that it had been held at the location of Mikhail, a film directed by Haneef Adeni.
In Monday's press meet, Siddique, claiming to speak on behalf of AMMA, said that the association will not ostracise or deny opportunities to Dileep based on the accusations. He also said that actors Parvathy, Revathy and Padmapriya's demands were extreme.
When asked whether Jagadeesh was distancing AMMA from Siddique with Mohanlal's permission, he did not give a direct answer. Instead he said, "Listen to the confidence in my voice. From that it is evident that Mohanlal had approved everything I wrote in that statement. This is not the time to speak about bye-laws, what justice can that give her?"