Malayalam Actress Beena Antony Clarifies After Video Of Hugging #MeToo Accused Invites Trolling

Beena Anthony-Siddique Viral Video: The actress has issued a clarification on an old video that has resurfaced amid the metoo movement in Mollywood. The industry is currently grappling with the shocking expose of the Hema Committee report which uncovers the horrifying working conditions of women professionals in Malayalam cinema. Amid this, actor Siddique, who was the former chairman of AMMA, faced accusations of sexual abuse from some actresses. A video of him hugging Beena Anthony was shared by the viral resurfaced online. However, the actress has clarified that she was just consoling him after the passing of his son.

Beena Anthony issues clarification over viral video

On August 29 Beena Anthony took to her Instagram account to share that the video was taken at an AMMA meeting which was held immediately after the passing away of Siddique's 37-year-old son in June. She clarified that the actor has always seen her as a sister and she had seen his son growing up. She slammed those questioning her relationship with Siddique following the video.

The actress told the publication that all accusations against Siddique must be looked into and thoroughly investigated. She questioned the character assassination of her in regard to the video. She requested for her character assassination to stop immediately.

Kerala police register case against Siddique following rape complaint 

The Museum police in Thiruvananthapuram has registered an FIR against senior Malayalam actor Siddique over charges of rape on the complaint of a young actress. Siddique had earlier resigned as general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) following allegations made by the young actress. Siddique has also given a complaint to police stating that the allegation by the woman actor is a conspiracy against him. On Monday, actor Mohanlal resigned as the president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists in the wake of the Justice Hema Committee report and sexual harassment allegations faced by some members of the executive committee.

Mohanlal and all executive members have resigned. After the release of the Hema Committee report, a section of AMMA members demanded that those facing sexual harassment allegations should resign from key positions. They said that those facing allegations should not delay sending their resignation and that their continued stay was not in the interest of the association. More female actors have come forward with their complaints and allegations in the wake of Hema Committee report which revealed discrimination and harassment of women in Malayalam film industry. The government has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the hardships faced by women in the industry.

Kerala Police said that the Special Investigation Team held a meeting at the police headquarters on Tuesday.