'I'd have to turn a blind eye': Dhyan Sreenivasan laughs off AMMA president rumours

Actor Dhyan Sreenivasan has dismissed speculation that he could become the president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), saying he has never aspired to the position and jokingly announced his "resignation" from a post he was never offered.

Speaking at the promotional event for his upcoming film Visitor, Dhyan quipped that the suggestion to lead AMMA came just when he had begun entertaining ambitions of becoming the Chief Minister.

"For the past few days, I've been focusing less on films and more on stage shows and advertisements. During one such stage show, I was in Australia. When Vijay became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, I decided that I would become one within the next 15 years. That's when Aju Varghese called me and said, 'Don't try to become the Chief Minister first. Take the first step by becoming the president of AMMA.' He also said I could become Chief Minister later after doing charity work and impressing people," Dhyan said.

He added that rumours about him taking over the leadership of AMMA began circulating while he was abroad.

"While I was in Australia, reports started appearing that I was likely to enter AMMA's leadership. Later, while preparing for Lalettan's show in Ireland, I saw news claiming that I had expressed my willingness to become AMMA president. The real power group in AMMA is Aju Varghese," he joked.

Dhyan then revealed that Aju had later advised him to stay away from the organisation altogether.

"In the meantime, Aju called again and told me not to get involved with AMMA because there were huge issues going on. He said I shouldn't become either the AMMA president or the Chief Minister, and that the ideal job for me would be Governor because there wouldn't be much work," he said, drawing laughter.

Dhyan also recounted his mother's reaction to the rumours.

"My mother said, 'Son, I heard you're going to become the president of AMMA. That should never happen.' She told me that the reason my father never became president was because straightforward people cannot hold that position. Sometimes, you'll have to turn a blind eye to certain things, she said. I didn't fully understand what she meant. But my mentor kept insisting that someone who wanted to become Chief Minister should first become the president of AMMA. So, today, I am resigning from the presidency of AMMA—a post I never wanted in the first place," he said.

Dhyan was speaking at the promotional event of *Visitor*, a horror film directed by Rahul Muralidharan and produced by Abdul Ghafoor under the Aurika Films banner. Anoop Hormis and Anil Thamalam serve as co-producers, while the screenplay has been written by Neethu Mathew.

The film stars Urvashi, Navya Nair and Dhyan Sreenivasan in the lead roles, marking the first time the three actors have shared screen space together. The supporting cast includes Siddharth Bharathan, Rony David, Madhu Warrier, Vishnu G. Warrier, KPAC Leela and Kalaranjini. More details about the film are expected to be announced soon.