Vetrimaaran is one of the most celebrated directors in the Kollywood film industry. On Sunday, he asserted that “cladding Thiruvalluvar in saffron, or presenting Rajaraja Cholan as a Hindu king, will strip us of our identities." The Tamil filmmaker made this remark at an art festival held in Chennai. It was organised to mark the 60th birthday of MP and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi’s (VCK) leader Thol. Thirumavalavan.
The Visaranai director’s comments have come just days after the release of filmmaker Mani Ratnam’s much-awaited movie, Ponniyin Selvan: 1. Along with netizens, senior BJP leader H Raja has also condemned Vetrimaaran’s speech.
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Speaking about the country’s current political scenario, he said, “When the Dravidian movement took over cinema, the people from the literature department said that ‘art is for art’s sake, and not for masses.’ They talked a lot about the importance of aesthetics in art. But no art is complete without people."
“Art is for people. It is about reflecting on people and we need to handle this art properly. If we fail to act today, we will lose a lot of identities very soon. They are constantly taking away our identities. Let it be cladding Thiruvalluvar in saffron, or presenting Rajaraja Cholan as a Hindu king. The identification is still going on," he added.
“This happens in the cinema too. They steal a lot of identities in cinema too. We must preserve these symbols. If we want to fight for freedom, we must be politically clear," the filmmaker said.
For those who don’t know, Vetrimaaran is very vocal about politics in his movies. All his films revolve around social issues, including police brutality and custodial torture.
Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan: Part 1 is based on Kalki Krishnamurthy’s five-part fictional novel inspired by Rajaraja Cholan. The film has set the box office on fire. In just three days of its release, the star-studded film has managed to cross Rs 230 crore.
It ensembles a star cast of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Chiyaan Vikram, Karthi, Trisha and Jayam Ravi in lead roles. Editor Sreekar Prasad, cinematographer Ravi Varman, composer AR Rahman, and choreographer Brinda are part of the film’s technical crew.
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