Shwetha Menon must clean up Malayalam film industry as A.M.M.A.'s head

Dubai: What Sandra Thomas couldn’t, Shwetha Menon did.

Shwetha winning the election to be president of the Malayalam film actors’ grouping A.M.M.A. can be seen as that one small step towards generational change in the industry.

Apart from breaking the glass ceiling which until now meant only men – whether they be superstars or their chosen ones – could be the president or general secretary of A.M.M.A.

As for Sandra Thomas, who wanted to contest as president of the influential Kerala Film Producers Association, there wasn’t much luck. She was barred from contesting for the president’s role, and later lost the election to the executive committee.

Sandra keeps the fight on through media channels and the courts, but in her case it doesn’t look like it will amount to much.

But for A.M.M.A. and Shwetha, things could change.

The hope is that the Malayalam film industry will under Shwetha go some way towards making itself a better place for women to work in.

Because without real change, it can easily slip back into its bad old ways, where the reigning superstars and their entourage issue diktats and everyone else will just have to take it in their stride. And where on film sets some can indulge in their drug habits and none of the others could do anything about it.

Because up to the point where Shwetha and a new committee was elected, Malayalam actors were busy casting aspersions and mudslinging at their peers. To an extent where Malayalees were saying that their politicians seemed better behaved than their actors.

The tasks before Shwetha are enormous – the film industry needs a complete clean-up of sorts. Not just on how everyone behaves on film sets, but how contracts are framed and whether everyone’s rights are taken care of.

Above all, there must be none of the ‘toxic masculinity’ on show, which meant that several reputed actors were booked and freed on bail by the Kerala Police for past offences against female co-workers.

But can Shwetha really make it better? After her win, one of the first things she said was to reaffirm the status of Mammootty, Mohanlal and Suresh Gopi as being instrumental to Malayalam cinema’s future good.

No one will dispute that, but where Shwetha needs to really do some work is making sure that supremely talented artistes such as Padma Priya and Parvathy Thiruvothu do get regular work. And not be ‘boycotted’ for having a mind of their own.

The other big issue that will crop up for the Malayalam film fraternity is when a verdict is finally passed in the case against Dileep on a 2017 sexual assault case. Loyalties have already been divided on this within A.M.MA. itself, and it could all go sour again.

Then again, many would ask whether A.M.M.A. even matters anymore? You don’t see much of the current generation of leading Malayalam film actors paying much heed to it. Yes, Tovino Thomas does make regular appearances, but has anyone seen Fahadh or Dulquer? Or Soubin – who gave the best performance in ‘Coolie’ - for that matter.

So, if Shwetha Menon brings about even the minutest of change in how women can work on film sets and clamp down on active drug use while on shoots, that would help clean up the mess that the Malayalam film industry finds itself in.

Because cosmetic changes are not going to help one bit.