Who Is Maala Parvathi? Malayalam Actor Quits AMMA Sexual Harassment Panel

Who Is Maala Parvathi? The row over alleged inaction against the actor Vijay Babu on the accusation of sexual harassment case by the Internal Complaints Committee has led to an uproar. The actor was accused of sexually harassing a young woman actor with the promise of giving acting roles. Amidst all this, theatre artist and actor Maala Parvathi resigned from the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) which was formed by the Association of Malayalam Cinema Artists (AMMA).

The reason for this sudden exit was because of the failure of the association to take action against the actor and producer Vijay Babu, who has been accused of raping a woman actor. Even though Maala Parvathi has resigned from ICC, she will remain to continue be part of the AMMA.

In her resignation, the actor mentioned, "The ICC was set up to ensure compliance among the women members in the industry. I was happy to be a part of it. It is not just a grievance redressal committee, but one that implements policies to prevent harassment." She also detailed that the committee is supposed to recommend actions to be taken against people, who resort to harassment but she no longer believes that she will be able to deliver her responsibilities as per her "conscience."

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The ICC has asked Vijay Babu to step down from the AMMA executive committee on Sunday. The New Indian Express reported that there was a rift within the committee on the decision. They also stated an unnamed source saying that Shwetha Menon, who is the presiding officer of ICC and Baburaj had threatened to resign. However, ICC has taken the removal of Vijay Babu from the position as the action now.

A complaint was filed against Vijay Babu by an actor on April 22 for sexual assault. The survivor, who is a native of Kozhikode district alleged that he had sexually assaulted her in a flat in Kochi. Not only this, Vijay Babu went live on Facebook and disclosed the survivor's name while challenging her with a defamation case.

Who Is Maala Parvathi?

The 51-year-old actor is also known as Maala Parvathi T, amongst other names. She was born in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala on May 18, 1970. She completed her bachelor's degree in Psychology from the Government College for Women. She was the vice-chairperson of the college union in the first year, post which she became the chairperson.

She first anchored for Ulkazhcha for Asianet and then made her acting debut in the Malayalam film named Time, which was directed by Shaji Kailas. Her popular films include Neelathamara, Leela, Comrade in America and Kanyaka Talkies, amongst others. She has also written the book titled Mayoorageethangal.

Feature Image Credit: Maala Parvathi/ Facebook