Tamil cinema is lately triggering engaging debates. One reason for this should be that young and upcoming filmmakers are willing to tread unchartered territories. They are experimenting with social issues, particularly the persisting casteism in the land of Dravida politics. There are hits and misses here. But the young filmmakers are willing to take chances. Pa Ranjith is a classic example of a band of young filmmakers who, despite being commercial in their approach, are ready to take up cudgels for the rights of the Dalits.
Mari Selvaraj's Maamannan.
Mari Selvaraj's Maamannan is the latest film that has sparked a debate on social media. The Sarpatta Parambarai maker Ranjith has come out with praises for Maamannan. The movie was penned and directed by Mari Selvaraj. The film stars Vadivelu, Udhayanidhi Stalin, Fahad Fazil, and Keerthi Suresh in the lead roles.
While airing his views over the film's portrayal of caste-based disparities within political parties, Ranjith highlighted the existing caste bias within Udhayanidhi Stalin's own political party, DMK.
Pa Ranjith took to Twitter to eulogize the movie and its producer. He remarked, "Udhayanidhi Stalin as an actor, producer and minister deserves praise. Udhayanidhi is aware of the caste discrimination that still poses a significant challenge within the DMK party. Through Maamannan, we believe Udhayanidhi will take the first step towards abolishing the caste-based discrimination within DMK, " he tweeted.
The Kaala director further added, "The film Maamannan strongly portrays how caste-based disparities are prevalent in political parties that claim to stand for social justice. In the movie, a Dalit MLA was discriminated against by upper caste -members within the political party that claim to fight for social justice.
It rightly reflects the challenges faced by MLAs from reserved constituencies and why they hesitate to voice their concerns. Despite being part of political parties that advocate for social justice, why do they remain silent? Maamannan is an answer to these questions.” Ranjith said.
From ' Parasakthi' to ' Maamannan'
Taking the debate forward with his reply to Pa Ranjith's remark, Udhayanidhi Stalin thanked the director and added, " Not only within the DMK, but within any party caste-based oppression and hierarchy must be completely eradicated. Udhayanidhi emphasised the DMK's commitment to ensuring self-respect for all individuals and highlighted the party's efforts to raise awareness among the public. He said that "the DMK government, when in power, has consistently protected social justice through various laws and programs."
Udhayanidhi Stalin referred to Sivaji Ganesan's Parasakthi (penned by his grandpa and late Chief Minister M Karunanidhi) and said that his party has been working to promote social justice through films right from Parasakthi to Maamannan. He acknowledged that the struggle for equality has spanned a century, fighting against a practice that has persisted for a thousand years. However, he also noted that a single film alone cannot bring about a revolution in society. It is possible to bring about this change among the people by following the footsteps of Periyar and Ambedkar. Let us come together to take the pursuit forward," Udhayanidhi tweeted.
However, DMK supporters took offense to Ranjith’s tweet and replied with abusive tweets targetting the young filmmaker.