Veteran Malayalam actor siddique has stepped down as general secretary of Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) after a teenage actress accused him of sexually assaulting her. The victim had repeated her allegations about the 2019 incident soon after the release of Hema Committee report that identified sexual harassment as the major problem faced by women in Malayalam cinema.
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actor siddique resigned.
Siddique informed media persons that he sent his resignation to AMMA president Mohanlal. Furthermore, he argued that it was not proper for him to remain in this position given the claims being put before him hence he resigned. Siddique said he would respond to these accusations at a later time when he received legal advice. Surprisingly during an August 23rd Amma press conference, Siddique claimed ignorance of the term “casting couch”, an euphemism to refer to sexual harassment in the film industry.
In 2019, she claimed that Siddique molested him three years earlier. After last week’s publication of Hema Committee report and addressing AMMA’s reaction on it by Siddique, the survivor has repeated herself.
actor siddique sexual harassment case
“He wanted me to come and talk with his son in his hotel room regarding an offer concerning working on a movie. I used to be called mole which is basically daughter in his language. This explains why I did not doubt his intentions. But there was no such film; it was a trick and he sexually molested me. He continuously lies now days only about what happened then and rape had been done by him; he attacked me through physical violence (hitting me with punches and kicks) and touched me without my consent.
He must be fooling himself; I would like to give him a mirror for example…However, I suffered from many mental health problems which included wasting my time and dreams; nobody should go through this anymore. On August 24th, he told the media “I didn’t find justice in any door I knocked.” Soon after, Siddique tendered his resignation. The survivor also mentioned that she had just graduated from high school.
In 2019, the survivor further stated that he told her that because he was so powerful, she had no choice but to complain to everyone she wanted to. She recounted TNM her ordeal with sexual harassment and he asked if she would be ready for “adjustments” before going on.
