Dileep Reinstated In FEFKA; Dubbing Artiste Bhagyalakshmi Announces Her Resignation

Just a day after the trial court acquitted actor Dileep of the 2017 assault case of a female actress in Ernakulam, several cinema organisations have announced that they would be reinstating the actor with a membership status. He had been removed from both FEFKA and A.M.M.A after allegations were made about his involvement in the conspiracy, which led to the abduction of a leading actress of the Malayalam movie industry. FEFKA, or Film Employees Federation of Kerala, was among the first film bodies to reinstate the star after he was acquitted by the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court in the actor rape case. In protest to this decision, senior dubbing artist and actor Bhagyalakshmi has resigned from FEFKA, taking a stand against the organisation’s move to reinstate him.

Addressing the media after she decided to resign, Bhagyalakshmi stated that the federation failed to stand in support of the survivor. She said that Dileep had been acquitted by the lower court. “He can be called not guilty only if the Supreme Court delivers the same verdict.” The veteran dubbing artiste had most recently dubbed for actor Shobhana in this year’s blockbuster hit Thudarum, starring Mohanlal. She said she was surprised at how quickly film bodies acted briskly to reinstate the actor right after the court acquitted him. 

Dileep was acquitted in the rape case by the sessions court in Kerala on December 8, 2025. He was the eighth accused in the assault case, was acquitted by Honey M.Varghese, the Ernakulam Principal Session Judge. Numbers one through six in the list of accused, including “Pulsar” Suni, have been found guilty in the case. A report in The Hindu details the list of six accused as follows: N.S. Sunil, alias ‘Pulsur Suni’, the second accused, Martin Antony, third accused B. Manikandan, fourth accused V. P. Vijeesh, fifth accused H. Salim alias Vadiwal Salim, and the sixth accused being Pradeep. The case attracted nationwide attention right from 2017 when a popular actress was allegedly abducted and assaulted inside a moving car in Ernakulam district. Actor Dileep’s name was later added as an accused in the case.

A.M.M.A., or the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), was among the first to issue a statement following actor Dileep’s acquittal by the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court. On Facebook, the association, now headed by President Shwetha Menon, posted that the law must follow the path of justice and added that the organisation respects the court and its verdict.