Kochi: President of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), actor Shwetha Menon, on Saturday defended the organisation's functioning as a charity body while responding to Executive Committee (EC) member Ansiba Hassan's resignation and allegations against fellow member Tini Tom. Menon's remarks came as the association was conducting a welfare eye camp for its members, with the dispute unfolding publicly around the same time.

The response follows serious allegations made by Hassan against actor and Executive Committee member Tini Tom, along with counter claims from him.

Questions raised over timing of allegations

Menon said Hassan had originally submitted her resignation on February 21, citing a combination of personal and professional reasons. According to her, the Executive Committee did not immediately accept the resignation and instead asked Hassan to reconsider her decision.

However, the resignation was formally processed at an executive meeting held on May 12.

Menon also questioned the timing of the allegations becoming public, saying it had happened while the organisation was carrying out a welfare programme.

"It feels like very specific timing," Menon said, adding that she found it surprising that serious allegations had surfaced publicly at the same time as a major AMMA event was under way.

She said the association only received a formal complaint through email at 2:00pm on May 23, after media reports regarding the issue had already begun circulating.

Menon confirmed that the latest email referred to several people, including Tini Tom and Lakshmi Priya.

AMMA says personal disputes are separate from organisation matters

Speaking about earlier disputes involving Hassan in January, Menon said the leadership had viewed them as personal matters rather than issues involving the organisation.

She said that if two members had a personal disagreement which later resulted in a police case, it was not the role of a charity organisation such as AMMA to become involved.

Menon also addressed claims regarding verbal insults during committee meetings. She noted that the Executive Committee consists of 17 members.

She said she found it unusual that if such remarks had been made, only one person allegedly heard them while the remaining 15 members did not respond.

Menon added that disagreements during meetings are not uncommon, but said complaints of this nature had not previously been formally raised before the committee in this manner.

Sponsorship concerns addressed

Hassan had earlier raised concerns over AMMA accepting sponsorship from religious institutions.

Responding to this, Menon defended the practice and said the association accepts support from different sources as part of funding its welfare activities as a charity organisation.

She also said AMMA's internal matters and rules should be discussed within the organisation rather than through the media.

Menon said the committee would examine the contents of the newly received email.