Actress Shwetha Menon has been elected as the president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), defeating her rival Devan. She is the first female actor to hold the post in the organization’s 31-year history.
The elections also saw Lakshmi Priya elected as vice president, Kuku Parameswaran as joint secretary, and Ansiba Hassan as general secretary. Voting was held on Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Kochi, with results announced in the evening. Of the 506 members eligible to vote, 298 cast their ballots. Reports indicate that some prominent actors did not participate in the voting.
AMMA, founded in 1994, has previously been led by actors including M.G. Soman, Madhu, and Mohanlal. Last year, Mohanlal resigned from the president post citing moral responsibility amid sexual misconduct allegations against several actors, prompting the early conduct of elections originally scheduled for 2027.
Shwetha Menon, who won Femina Miss India Asia Pacific in 1994, made her acting debut with Anaswaram and has since appeared in Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi films. In Telugu cinema, she was noted for her special song in Anandam and performances in films like Juniors and Rajanna.
