Kollywood controversies 2020

Here, we bring you a list of controversies and issues that plagued the Tamil entertainment industry in 2020...
We need to boost immunity against noxious social media posts that go viral. Vijay Sethupathi (right), who was among the targets, had to pull out of the Muttiah Muralitharan biopic.
We need to boost immunity against noxious social media posts that go viral. Vijay Sethupathi (right), who was among the targets, had to pull out of the Muttiah Muralitharan biopic.

As Tamil Nadu went into a lockdown in March to flatten the curve of Covid-19, cinema halls across the State shut down indefinitely and consequently, the fate of several films remained in question. Despite closed theatres and halted production, the Tamil film industry continued to be privy to several controversies — from plagiarism disputes to movie release norms. Here, we bring you a list of controversies and issues that plagued the Tamil entertainment industry in 2020...

Production accident

A mishap on the sets of Kamal Haasan’s Indian 2 in February led to death of three crew members. A crane carrying heavy equipment crashed killing an assistant director, an art assistant, and a production assistant

Trial by social media

Twitter was rife with outrage in October following the announcement of the Muthiah Muralitharan biopic, 800, starring Vijay Sethupathi as the famous cricketer. Detractors alleged that the cricketer’s stand isn’t sympathetic to Eelam Tamils and urged Vijay Sethupathi to step away from the project

Clash of egos

The production of Thupparivaalan 2 hit a roadblock after the filmmaker had a major fall out with the movie’s lead Vishal. The conflict reportedly arose after the budget overshot by a huge margin. Vishal, also the producer of the film, then decided to take up the directorial responsibilities. The duo went on making open allegations against each other

Photo mixup

Mafia: Chapter 1 that released in February starring Arun Vijay was slammed for using photos of victims murdered by a Toronto serial killer. The people in the photos were depicted to be connected to a drug kingpin in the movie. The film’s production house, Lyca Productions, had apologised in a statement

Row over reptile

A video of actor Silambarasan handling a cobra during the shoot of Eeswaran triggered a huge controversy. In response, the director, Suseenthiran, met forest officials and reportedly proved that the crew only used a rubber snake and CGI effects

Pro

ducers vs digital providers

Ever since the govt announced reopening of theatres, the producers and digital service providers (Qube and UFO) went at loggerheads with each other over release terms. The Tamil Film Active Producers Association announced producers would not be releasing new films unless the Virtual Print Fee (VPF) collected by Qube and UFO was reduced

Payment woes

Producer Ravindran of Trident Arts approached the Madras High Court in September stating that actor Vishal owed the production house `8 crore to settle the losses of their latest film, Action. He also wanted to stay the release of Vishal’s next outing, Chakra, which was supposed to premiere on September 30 on a leading OTT platform. The court ordered Vishal to post a guarantee of `8.29 crore

Misplaced outrage 

Actor Jyotika found herself in a heated social media debate after her statement at an award show that went viral. She had said that those donating to temples should also donate to hospitals and schools. The comments sparked a wave of online hate, as Hindu sections took it as an attack on the religion. Actor Suriya went on to back his wife’s comments iterating that his wife’s intention had been twisted to give a communal colour

The OTT backlash

As theatres remained closed, Ponmagal Vandhal, starring Jyotika, and produced by Suriya’s 2D Entertainment, got a direct OTT release in May. Theatre owners, already sore from the losses, didn’t take kindly to this decision. They stressed that films made for theatrical release must never opt for digital releases. They also threatened to never allow a theatre release of film involving Suriya, and his production house

Incendiary remark 

Rajinikanth, at an event, made a statement about Periyar, where he said EV Ramaswamy took out a rally against superstition in Salem in 1971, and “undressed images of Lord Sri Ram and Sita with garlands of sandals, and no news outlet published it”. Effigies of Rajinikanth were burnt and protesters laid siege  to his residence. However, he refused to apologise

Premature censorship

Actor Karunas demanded a ban on Dhanush’s next film Karnan, which is being directed by Pariyerum Perumal fame Mari Selvaraj. According to Karunas, the film, which was rumoured to be based on the 1995 Kodiyankulam caste riots, could trigger violence in the now-peaceful region. The crew was threatened to stop shooting in Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi or face the consequences

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