Thangalaan is set in 18th-century Tamil Nadu and is about the trauma and the suffering that went into the making of the Kolar Gold Field.
Published Aug 21, 2024 | 8:12 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 21, 2024 | 9:00 PM
Director Pa Ranjith and Thangalaan movie
An Advocate practising in Poonamallee court in the outskirts near Chennai in Tamil Nadu, Porkodi on Wednesday, 21 August filed a case against Thangalaan movie director Pa Ranjith for allegedly demeaning Vaishnavism.
The movie that has actors Vikram and Parvathy Thiruvothu in lead roles was released on 15 August, on Independence Day. Set in 18th-century Tamil Nadu, the movie is about the trauma and the suffering that went into the making of the Kolar Gold Field (KGF) and how a village, empowered by a fierce leader, takes charge of its destiny.
In a complaint filed at the Chennai police commissioner’s office, Porkodi alleged that the movie, in an attempt to promote Buddhism, has demeaned Vaishnavism as a religion. She said that, unless the scenes that are ‘discriminatory’ to Vaishnavism which has sparked a controversy are removed, she will approach the court to file a case against him.
She wrote in her complaint letter, “I belong to a family that follows Hindu Vaishnavism and for several generations now we have been following in the footsteps of Ramanujar. The religion has been practised in India for our ancestors for several centuries. ‘Namam,’ a religious mark on the forehead is one of the things people following the religion believe in.”
Referring to a particular scene in the movie that portrays someone following Vaishnavism, she explained that, “even though oppression based on caste has been eradicated in India for a long time now, it is unfair that a person belonging to a dominant Hindu caste dehumanises the person from her (Porkidi’s) community in the film. While the words used against the Vaishnavite in the film are supposed to be ‘funny,’ it ridicules people belonging to the community.”
She also said that if at all comedy was the intention for the movie, it could have been attained in other ways. “There is no rule that the white thread or ‘namam’ on the forehead is the property of Brahmins or other privileged castes but that even people belonging to the Backward Classes or Scheduled Classes (BC/SC) can also wear it.”
She also mentioned other instances in the movie that allegedly disrespects people belonging to her religion and that the movie has made a mockery and sarcasm of Vaishnavites’ belief systems and who they are.
The advocate concluded her letter by seeking action against Pa Ranjith for the said scenes.
(Edited by Neena with inputs from Baskar P)
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