Actor Siddique quit as the general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) following allegations of sexual assault levelled by actress Revathy Sampath. Mr. Siddique confirmed to The Hindu that he had submitted his resignation letter to actor Mohanlal, the President of AMMA in light of the allegations against him.
“I submitted the resignation voluntarily since it is inappropriate to continue in that position when I am facing such an allegation. No one demanded for my resignation. Let the truth come out,” said Mr. Siddique.
When asked about his response to the allegations, he said he would respond in detail after getting legal advice.
Ms. Sampath had on Saturday evening spoken to the media accusing Mr. Siddique of sexually assaulting her after calling her to Thiruvananthapuram for the audition of a “non-existent movie”.
“Siddique got in touch with me through a social media platform and offered me a role in a Tamil movie in which his son would also be acting. I did not doubt his intentions because he always used to call me daughter. After about a year, I came to Thiruvananthapuram to take forward the offer. It was a trap. Such a movie did not exist. He sexually assaulted me for an hour in a hotel room. He hit and kicked me when I resisted. He is a criminal. Some of my friends too had similar experiences from him. I had to give up my dreams and go through a lot of mental health issues. This should happen to no one again,” she said.
Mr. Siddique’s resignation comes two days after he spoke to the media to give AMMA’s first official response to the Hema committee report on the issues faced by women in the Malayalam film industry. He had said that the organisation would not support those who had wronged women in the industry.
He had specifically said the organisation has not received any complaints about the casting couch. “None can be sidelined in cinema merely for lodging a complaint. There has been no denial of opportunities to Women in Cinema Collective members. Casting is done based on the actor best fit for a role,” he said.
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