The Malayalam film industry, which was rocked by the Hema Committee report and the subsequent revelations of sexual assault by female actors, has plunged into deeper crisis with two prominent film personalities stepping down from their posts.

Malayalam film director Ranjith stepped down as the chairman of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy on Sunday, following public outcry for his resignation after allegations of sexual misbehaviour by Bengali actress Sreelekha Mitra while noted actor Siddique resigned as the General Secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) after actress Revathy Sampath accused him of sexually assaulting her.

Ranjith informed his decision to resign to Cultural Minister Saji Cherian, stating that he is unwilling to continue in the position in the light of the allegations against him.

Cultural Minister Saji Cherian told the media persons that Ranjith had called him and informed him of his decision to resign from his position as the chairman of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy.

Ranjith, in a voice clip released to the media, termed the allegation by Sreelekha Mitra as part of an effort by a group of people ever since he assumed the position as the chairman of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy.

Mitra on Friday told the media that Ranjith had sexually misbehaved with her when she came to Kerala for the audition of Ranjith directed 2009 film ‘Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathira Kolapathakiathinte Katha’. She said he made inappropriate advances towards her and that she left Kerala the following day.

Earlier on Sunday, actor Siddique resigned as general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA). He sent his resignation to the AMMA president Mohanlal, via.email. “I am stepping down from the position in the light of the allegations against me,” Siddique stated.

Siddique’s resignation comes a day after actress Revathy Sampath made serious allegations against him, accusing Siddique of physically assaulting her in 2016.

She also claimed that a few of her friends had similar experiences with him. Revathi Sampath said that Siddique contacted her using a fake social media account under the guise of discussing a film project in 2016.

“He is a criminal He subjected me to sexual assault for an hour. He even locked me in a room.However, I managed to escape,” Revathy said.

Meanwhile, casting director Tess Joseph has come out against actor Mukesh, alleging that he had misbehaved with her during the shooting of a reality show for a popular TV channel.

She claimed that Mukesh repeatedly disturbed her while staying at the hotel. Tess had opened up about the incident during the #MeToo movement in 2018.

Mukesh had rubbished the allegations against him by Tess Joseph stating that he never met her.He termed the allegation a political conspiracy and that he is being targeted as he is a CPI-M MLA.

In another shocking revelation, Revathy Sampath, who raised serious sexual assault allegations against actor Siddique, on Sunday raised allegation of misconduct against actor Riyaz Khan.

Revathy revealed that Khan spoke obscenely to her over the phone and asked her to introduce friends who were willing to cooperate with him.

Actress Sonia Malhar also revealed that she encountered harassment from a young actor in 2013. Sonia said the actor grabbed her while she was returning from the restroom at a shoot in Thodupuzha.