Devan on filing his ‘last minute’ nomination for AMMA: ‘I believe I will be the next president’

Mollywood actor Devan has no doubt in his mind that he will be the next person after Mohanlal to helm the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA). The 73-year-old goes head-to-head with actress Shwetha Menon, another favourite contender.

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In a recent interview with Manorama Online, the actor mentioned how it was difficult to imagine the organisation without Mohanlal leading it. The veteran actor had held the post since 2018. “I firmly believe that I will be elected as the AMMA president. There is a reason why I chose to contest this election. At the last general meeting of AMMA, Mohanlal declared that he is stepping down as president and will never hold an office-bearer position in the future. That saddened us all. We couldn’t imagine AMMA without Mohanlal as president. Despite our persuasion, he declined to continue in the post. Instead, he urged us to hold elections to find a fitting successor.”

Despite this, Devan still held the belief that Mohanlal would file his nomination for the post, but when he did not, the actor felt compelled to submit his name as he was “anxious about who would be the next president.” He said, “I had no idea who had filed nominations. I felt that ‘AMMA’ was heading towards a crisis.”

Devan disclosed that he had deliberated with friends and family before making the decision. He recalled them saying that no allegations have been made against him and that the actor should file the nomination. “Nominations closed at 4 p.m. on that day. I rushed from the shooting set and filed my nomination just before the deadline. That’s how I stepped forward to contest for president, despite not being involved in ‘AMMA’ affairs all these years.”

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Shwetha Menon, Devan’s opponent, was slammed with a First Information Report (FIR) alleging that the actress was profiting from performing in obscene scenes in films. Devan questioned why only Menon was singled out, and the complaint did not name other actors or producers. “If it were a big crime, the complaint should not have been filed only against Shwetha Menon. A case should have been registered against the other actors and crew members of the film,” the actor stated.

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