After over a decade as President of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), actor Innocent said he would quit the top post at the end of his term in June. The actor cited a busy schedule and his health as reasons for stepping down.
On Saturday, Innocent also announced that he will not contest in the election to the AMMA general body to be held in July.
The term of an administrative committee of AMMA, the most powerful organisation of the Malayalam film industry, is for three years. The tenure of the present committee will end in June.
Speaking to TNM, the 70-year-old actor said that he is physically not well to handle all the responsibilities together. Innocent is also the MP from Chalakudy constituency.
“I have some physical difficulties. Every day I need to visit places in my constituency and it’s difficult to manage everything together. After all it has been 10-15 years. I believe that it is not good to love positions, the moment we love to hang on to a position, a bad time will follow in our life,” said the cancer survivor.
He said that he has been continuing because of pressure from other members in AMMA, who do so out of love. When asked whether he would succumb to pressure from the fraternity this time, Innocent said, “No. I have already told those in AMMA that I won’t contest the election this year and asked them to find persons to replace me. It is possible for new people to take over the position, only after we quit no? Even if I continue out of pressure, people outside would think wrong about it. Also, if I continue out of pressure I may need to continue till the end of my life,” he said.
"I had made it clear earlier that I will quit the president post. I have been in the post for many years. I had requested to exclude me in the last two terms as well," he said.
"I have no love for positions. I haven't made any special effort to get the president post of AMMA. I have no circumstances that prompts me to quit, in fact this is not resigning, I will repeat my stand in the next General Body," he told media on Saturday.
In December 2017, Innocent had made it clear that he would quit the post. While speaking at a function in Delhi, he had said that there are a lot of other people in the organisation who are eligible for the president post.