Crowdfunding controversy

The teaser of Draupadi garnering 4.7 million views has upped the confidence of director G Mohan, who is thrilled his film has got 300 screens for its Friday release. Mohan credits this to the power of social media, which also helped him crowdfund his film. “I had the script ready long ago, but producers weren’t willing to take a chance, since the plot dealt with the caste factor behind the fake marriage cartel.”

Mohan says he found it disturbing that a whopping 3500 fake cases were registered in Tamil Nadu six years ago. “A large chunk of these so-called weddings happened without the presence of the bride and the groom. Once I started digging deeper, many startling facts emerged.”

Having made the film, getting it certified by the censor board proved tricky. “They felt I was taking the side of the affluent community. Finally, the revised committee decided to give it a U/A certificate.” Though the story begins in Chennai, much of the happening is centred around Vellore and Ariyalur, Mohan tells us. “Instead of giving any outright messages, I have left it for the audience to read between the lines,” he signs off.