Filmmaker Vetrimaaran recently attended the trailer launch of Neelira, a film based on incidents from the Sri Lankan civil war. While talking on stage, he slammed recent ‘hate propaganda’ films, leading many on the internet to believe that he was criticising Aditya Dhar and Ranveer Singh’s Dhurandhar films. He also made a cheeky comment about the film being certified by the CBFC without going to the revising committee. (Also Read: ₹1140 crore; franchise beats Pushpa”>Dhurandhar 2 worldwide box office collection day 9: Ranveer Singh film brings in ₹1140 crore; franchise beats Pushpa)
Vetrimaaran slams ‘hate propaganda’ films
At the Neelira trailer launch, Vetrimaaran remarked, “Until we tell our stories, our life is what our enemies say they are. We do not have the democracy to tell our own stories,” while praising the film’s team for choosing to tell this tale. He also praised Rana Daggubati for backing the project despite being from the Telugu states.
“This film does not talk about hate. This film does not advocate violence. This is not a propaganda film; it is to uphold an ideology,” said the director, adding, “There are many films that cost millions of rupees, wishing to earn hundreds of crores with violence or hatred. This film does not want to sell hate, caricature a race, a community, or a religious sect.”
After cheekily asking the film’s team if it was certified without going to the revising committee and getting an affirmative response in return, Vetrimaaran added, “Today, everything is turning into propaganda, and propaganda has the power to influence memory. Memory is so fickle because we all know who was the most affected by demonitisation and how many lives were lost when people stood in lines. But we can easily change its impact. So, what can we do against hate propaganda? We have to continue making films like these and keep the memory alive.”
Vijay’s Jana Nayagan has yet to be certified by the CBFC after being sent to the revising committee. It was supposed to be released in January.
Internet thinks Vetrimaaran is slamming Dhurandhar
“#Vetrimaaran indirectly attacks #Dhurandhar2,” wrote one X (formerly Twitter) user sharing a clip from the event of Vetrimaaran slamming propaganda films. “Same applies to sir’s movies, btw i love to watch both.See movie as movie,” commented one person, while another criticised, “He thinks terrosism is fake, all the attacks orchestrated by them are fake, all the lives, businesses, properties lost are fake.”
“Leave abt propaganda. Just make movies as intense as dhurandhar. U will definitely win audience,” claimed one X user, while another wrote, “So, how exactly is viduthalai 2 not propaganda when the train is blown up killing innocents??” One person even wrote, “Yes and what he does is not propaganda? Every film has some propaganda, at least Dhurandhar wasn’t boring.”
Dhurandhar was released in theatres in December last year, and Dhurandhar: The Revenge was released on March 19 this year. The films have collectively made over ₹2447 crore worldwide. Many believe Vetrimaaran is speaking about Dhurandhar, as in the sequel, a plot point claims that demonetisation was announced in a bid to curb terrorism and fake note printing.
