There used to be a time, not long back when the Bollywood industry had got itself covered with shades of red and green. Bollywood was once dominated by Islamo-leftist propaganda, distorting history and undermining Indian culture was a norm. This cost the Hindi Film Industry heavy losses at the Box Office. Films like Jodha Akbar glorified invaders, while Haidar pushed anti-India narratives. However, a major shift began post-2014 with the rise of a nationalist dispensation at the centre. Gradually, films started reflecting patriotic themes and historical truths. Movies like Uri: The Surgical Strike, The Kashmir Files, The Kerala Story, Article 370, and Swatantrya Veer Savarkar challenged the old narrative, bringing untold stories to the forefront. The change of approach is slowly bringing Bollywood on the right track.
But it seems that the Tamil Movie Industry aka Kollywood is walking along the same path as that of the old Bollywood with divisive propaganda undermining India’s culture and heritage.
2024 was not a happy year for the Tamil film industry aka Kollywood. While some brilliantly made films like Maharaja garnered applause from all corners of the country, the industry as a whole had a nightmarish time last year. For Tamil cinema, 2024 was one of its most challenging years. Producers and distributors incurred heavy losses to the tune of ₹1000 crore.
Reports indicate that nearly ₹3000 crore was invested in filmmaking, but only 18 out of 241 films gained success at the Box office. This means that the industry faced a significant downturn and the audience gave a big thumbs down to the stories they wanted to sail and the divisive narrative they wanted to push through.
There can be many reasons attributed for the hefty loss and failure of the Industry but the most significant among them is the wave of propaganda driven movies the industry has embraced in recent years.
For a few years, the Kollywood industry has embarked on a new jersey. The Industry now rides fabricated stories that can be summed up as ‘Caste-Atrocity Literature’. As part of this, their sole agenda is to demonise the Brahmin community and the Hindu customs and traditions.
Over the years, the Kollywood industry has turned into a bastion of Dravidian Propaganda. It is filled with Periyar/EVR Ideologues and DMK loyalists. While followers of E.V. Ramasamy (EVR) hails him as reformer and peddles the same falsehoods in Tamil films, he left a legacy which is marked by extremism and division. His anti-Brahmin rhetoric and anti-Hinduism mirror the racial hatred which Hitler had for Jews.
The same social thought is being witnessed through the methodology with which Tamil Film Industry works. TJ Gnanavel, Vetrimaaran and Pa Ranjith are some of the directors who actively work towards pushing the Dravidian Propaganda through which the ruling party of Tamil Nadu, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam caters its vote bank. Jaim Bhim of Gnanavel, Asuran of Vatrimaaran and Kaala directed by Pa Ranjith are some of the propaganda movies directed by the trio. Moreover, in an interview, propaganda director Vatrimaaran acknowledged that it is the Tamil Movie Industry working towards strengthening the roots of Dravidian politics in the state.
Udhayanidhi Stalin’s rise within the DMK and his selection as the Deputy Chief Minister has also built a stronghold within industry. His company, Red Giant Movies, has almost established a monopoly over Tamil Nadu’s film ecosystem. With this, it enjoys its influence for his political promotion.
It won’t be wrong to term the Tamil Film Industry as a visual propaganda wing of the Ruling Party DMK. The hold of the ruling party on the art form is so stiff that actors who somewhere share a more Dharmic leaning elsewhere have to endorse and work in movies which are pure Dravidian propaganda. For instance, Superstar Rajinikanth had to act as the lead in the agenda driven movie, Kaala directed by Pa Ranjith.
Moreover, the DMK control has paralysed the Industry to even showcase the identity of the lead actor in the movie who has Brahmin roots. In a recent movie named Amaran which was based on the life of Major Mukund Vardarajan, the Brahmin identity of Major Vardarajan was intentionally omitted. But the identity doesn’t always hide the Brahmin identity of the protagonist.
In Tamil films, it is common to see the Brahmin identity of a character that is shown in negative light, while it is conveniently downplayed or hidden when the character holds a positive role. The upcoming Tamil film Bad Girl, directed by Varsha Bharath is one such example. However, what the Kollywood and a few other southern film industry enjoy is the relative ignorance or bias of these so-called film critics who find it convenient to pull down Bollywood even for minor fender benders, but continues to sing peons on the Southern regional cinema. But not anymore, TFI will continue to show mirror and firmly advocate to not mix entertainment with divisive agenda and not allow entertainment industry to look down on Hindu traditions, customs and peddle casteist agenda. Thanks for tuning in.
