2024-04-09 18:16:57
Chennai: “We don’t appreciate caste and you say all this is happening because of you. “Why was this question not raised when the films ‘Chinna Counter’ and ‘Deva Magan’ came out in the 90s,” said director Pa. Ranjith with concern.
Neelam Cultural Center organized ‘PK Rosie Film Festival’ at Prasad Lab, Saligram, Chennai. Participating in this, director Ba Ranjith said, “After the Dravidian movement came to power, cinema is turning to commercialism. After that come actors like Rajini and Kamal. Balumakendra and Bharathiraja enter. Change happens.
Balumakendra’s films spoke of aesthetics. Bharathiraja films talked about the life of common people. Cinema changed completely in the 90s. It was then that many caste films including ‘Chinna Counter’ and ‘Thevar Magan’ were released. There were films that talked openly about castes.
You can see how they used the characters of Dalit people in it. In Tamil cinema, which talked about social reform, the opposite happened. The face of cinema changed and caste pride was talked about. Are they debated? That is the question.
Why are you making a film with Dalit caste mentality in healthy cinema? That’s why caste intelligence comes. We don’t appreciate caste. They say that all this is happening because of you. Why was the question not raised when films like ‘Chinna Counter’ and ‘Thevar Magan’ came out in the 90s?
In Tamil cinema, which caused a political upheaval like ‘Parasakthi’, there were no debates when it came to films that spoke of caste pride. No one criticized it. It never resonated in the public domain. It happened normally without raising any questions,” he said with apprehension.
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