Starting an organization and running it profitably for many years to come are two different things. The South Indian Actors Association (SIAA), popularly known as Nadigar Sangam, and the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) were started with the noble objectives of protecting the interests of artists in the film industry. SIAA, which was started in 1952 by the renowned MG Ramachandran (MGR) and others, has now become a major industry body in Tamil Nadu, supporting artists and even providing financial assistance to actors and actresses in need provides. AMMA formed in 1994 has also become a strong body of actors and actresses working in the Malayalam film industry.
It is quite rare for artists’ associations to produce a film. Earlier, while SIAA’s attempt to make a film failed, AMMA successfully produced a film and it did good business at the box office. Amma also made a small profit from the film.
The SIAA operated systematically until actor Radha Ravi was accused of financial fraud in the 1990s. Veteran actor Vijayakanth became the president of SIAA in 2000. He had occupied this position at a very important stage of the association. During that period, the SIAA was under heavy debt due to the construction of the building for the actor’s club. There was a debt of about four crore rupees. Vijayakanth decided to repay the amount by doing a film called Innattu Mannargal.
It was decided that apart from Vijayakanth, Satyaraj and Prabhu would be a part of this film. From the director to the music composer, every aspect was decided. Music maestro Ilaiyaraaja also agreed to be a part of the film. But due to paucity of money, the shooting of the film could not go ahead. The cast of this film tried to raise funds on their own but could not succeed. Vijayakanth initially organized stage shows in Singapore and Malaysia to raise funds. Similar shows were also held in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Eventually the film was shelved after several attempts.
However, years later, AMMA successfully produced a film in 2008 and there is a lesson in it for SIAA. The film titled Twenty:20 was directed by Joshi while actor Dileep directed it on behalf of Amma. The film featured some of the biggest names in the Malayalam film industry like Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, Mammootty, Jayaram and others. Dileep, Lalu Alex, Babu Antony were also a part of this film. All the actors of this film worked honestly without taking a single penny.
Actor Innocent, the then president of AMMA, commented on the film saying that there is no ego issue in Mollywood and that is why films like Twenty20 succeed.
The film did good business at the box office and even Amma made profits. According to Innocent, several people came forward to buy the rights to Twenty:20 to make it in other languages, but it could not materialize due to ego issues. Innocent had praised actor Dileep for taking charge of the film and implementing it successfully.
AMMA’s success for SIAA has a lesson in how to run an organization successfully and profitably.
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