Mohan ji directly attacks his critics who called him for doing casteist work in ‘Draupadi’, a film which I have not seen yet but am well aware of its politics. Result? We get an even more controversial film…
A stream of couples and a young group of hypersensitive college teens who seem to lack clarity or political conviction constitute the prime target audience of Mohanji’s films, the audience I caught up with. rudra thandavami. Needless to say, it was an unusual but very relatable sight in the cinema hall on Friday morning for Mohan ji’s film. I am sure you must be aware by now that his films are a painstaking attempt to cash in on the politics of divide and divide caste, which is now intertwined with religion. rudra thandavami, which presents a very dangerous theory for the audience, the coating of sugar as entertainment – one that would radicalize a young adult crowd, festering them to an offensive dialogue or a parody aimed at marginalized sections of society. mode will launch.
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Different Draupadi, in which Mohan ji plays it safe by testing the waters with his ‘ideology’, looks like he has finally come out of the closet rudra thandavami In a shocking way, fervently pleading for the ‘elimination’ of caste by caste-related violence. Let me explain
In May last year, a black man was gunned down by three police officers, one of whom, a white man, pressed his knee on the man’s neck for nearly eight minutes, resulting in a horrific murder that took place in broad daylight. I got caught on camera. Thousands of people, Americans to be precise, took to the streets to protest white supremacy and police brutality, which has a history with African-Americans, and the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter started a revolution of sorts in the West. George Floyd was the man who was executed by Derek Chauvin, who has now been sentenced to prison for third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Now, imagine a filmmaker making a plea for Chauvin by removing, rather than eliminating, the racial angle to suit his “politics.” Would you call it convenient or deaf?
rudra thandavami
- Cast: Richard Rishi, Gautham Menon, Dharsha Gupta and Thambi Ramaiah
- Director: Mohan Ji
- What is this about?: A police officer is charged and sentenced to prison for the unintentional death of a drug dealer boy. When the matter is related to the caste of the boy, we get several twists which say a lot about the film and its producer.
Closer to home, let us take on another gruesome murder in which a father-son duo in custody was brutally tortured and killed by two police officers. Last year, this case that shook Tamil Nadu was told by linking it to caste. Now, what if a filmmaker defends custodial torture by making a case for nexus between caste and religion? Sounds dangerous? rudra thandavami Is He Film.
Here, Mohan ji directly attacked his critics as they called him to do casteist work Draupadi, a film I haven’t seen yet but am well aware of its politics. Result? We get an even more controversial film.
Everything – from where Rudran Prabhakaran (Richard Rishi) is transferred, wall posters of political leaders inside Vathapi Rajan (Gautham Menon plays the leader of a political organization called Manitha Urimai Ezuchi Iyakkam), related As for the actors chosen for the characters – it seems that some of them have something in common. The lamb in this attack is Gautam Menon.
History doesn’t seem to suit Mohan ji the best; He introduced a dangerous concept: attacking crypto-Christians, primarily Dalit Christians who, according to the director, are benefiting from the fruits of caste despite being converted. It gets to the point where a boy’s community certificate becomes the subject of controversy in the courtroom. There is a whole history behind why Dalits took refuge in Christianity, but nothing like this rudra thandavami takes an interest in. It wants to ‘else-ise’.
These are ethical issues, but does it at least have the aesthetics of a cop film? No. From music to acting – everything is everywhere. Especially the music whose crescent moon hits the ceiling and I wish the decibels were higher, to save us from the talky part of the movie.
Talking about acting, Gautham Menon plays the villain here. He may look and sound different to the film’s surroundings, which is certainly a problem, but it’s minor compared to the big pothole. It is not the film writer’s job to comment on an actor’s choice of characters and I believe it is within the rights of the actor to play a morally flawed character. But, here it is a question of being part of a film that is fundamentally wrong on many levels, its politics least of all. Of course, you can express your disappointment at Gautham’s involvement but whether he thinks this is a mistake is a good place to leave this discussion.
Rudra Thandavam is currently running in theaters
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