MOVIE NEWS

AMMA gives Thilakan another chance !

The Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) Monday decided to give actor Thilakan one more chance to appear before them to sort out issues after he was suspended for "indiscipline". Thilakan was suspended last Monday from AMMA following his tirade against the association and other senior actors. On March 1, after he failed to appear before the AMMA disciplinary committee, it asked Thilakan to appear before it latest by Monday, which he did not do. Addressing reporters after the five-member disciplinary committee met here, AMMA general secretary and superstar Mohanlal said the associaion has no intention to oust the veteran actor from AMMA. "Thilakan is one of the senior most members of our family and we have nothing against him and we have no intention of ousting him. We have decided to give him one more chance to sort out issues. He can come before the executive committee and we are prepared for a personal hearing. And if need be, if he so desires, one of us is prepared to go and meet him also," Mohanlal said. Meanwhile, reacting to the AMMA decision, Thilakan said that if it is to be an "honourable" meeting then he will cooperate. "Maybe they have realized that, it is not that easy to throw me out because I will not simply sit. If need be, I will stage a protest against ousting me...and seek compensation," Thilakan said. The entire issue started when he was dropped after he was signed and paid advance to act in the film "Christian Brothers". He claims that he was dropped after a superstar put pressure on the director to drop him. There are two superstars in Malayalam films, Mammootty and Mohanlal. In a related development, Thilakan and his supporters Monday marched towards the shooting location of an English film "Dam 999" at Alappuzha after he was ousted from the film following alleged pressure from a film organisation.