Let Tiruvalluvar be clothed in saffron and make Rajaraja Chola a Hindu king. The stripping away of our identities continues.
A short film and documentary film festival was held on the occasion of the 60th birthday of Liberation Tigers of India leader Thirumavalavan in Sally Village, Chennai. Director Vetrimaran, who participated in this and spoke,
“Before shooting Asuran, I personally met Vishika leader Thirumavalavan so that nothing would go wrong politically. I asked what should be prioritized when dealing with such issues.
To that he said, “Don’t tell in the cinema that an individual can solve the society. The same mistake happens. Make way for the organization.” Thirumavalavan had also said, “Art is a politics. Whether we know it or not, we are in politics.” How literature and cinema were in their hands. Tamil Nadu has become a secular country only because the Dravidian movement took over that Tamil cinema. That’s why I think cinema has also matured to resist external domination. Cinema is an art form that reaches the masses very easily.
It is important to politicize cinema. When cinema was taken over by the Dravidian movement, they said that art was for art’s sake. They felt that reflecting people is art. We have to handle that art properly. Otherwise, they have already taken the signs from us. This continues to happen with Tiruvalluvar being dressed in saffron and Rajaraja Chola being made a Hindu king.
Identities are stripped away in cinema as well. We must preserve these symbols. If we are to fight for our freedom we must be politically clear. I think the upcoming RSS rally is an example of this. We must work together. I will contribute my best,” he said.