Maamannan: Director PA Ranjith calls out caste bias within DMK 

Express News Service

Now is the time to discuss Tamil cinema. The time when young directors try to tread unchartered territories, especially wax eloquence about the persisting casteism in the land of Dravida politics. There are hits and misses here. But the young filmmakers are willing to take chances. Pa Ranjith is a classic example of a band of young filmmakers who, despite being commercial in their approach, were too willing to take up cudgels for the rights of the Dalits.  

Now, let’s come to Mari Selvaraj’s Maamannan.

Pa Ranjith has lauded the recently released Maamannan penned and directed by Mari Selvaraj, starring Vadivelu, Udhayanidhi Stalin, Fahad Fazil, and Keerthi Suresh in the lead roles. 

While commending the film’s portrayal of caste-based disparities within political parties, Ranjith highlighted the existing caste bias within Udhayanidhi Stalin’s own political party, DMK.

Pa. Ranjith in his tweet said 

மாமன்னன் திரைப்படம், பட்டியலின மக்களின் சட்டமன்ற உறுப்பினர்கள், சமூக நீதியை கொள்கையாக கொண்டுள்ள அரசியல் கட்சியாக இருந்தாலும், கட்சியில் உள்ள மற்ற உயர் வகுப்பினர் சாதி அடிப்படையில் ஏற்றத்தாழ்வுகளை அவர்களுக்கு எப்படி நிகழ்த்துகிறார்கள் என்பதை அப்பட்டமாக காட்சிப்படுத்தி இருக்கிறது.…

— pa.ranjith (@beemji) July 3, 2023  

“Udhayanidhi Stalin as an actor, producer and minister deserves praise. Udhayanidhi is aware of the caste discrimination that still poses a significant challenge within the DMK party. Thorugh’ Maamannan, we believe Udhayanidhi will take the first step towards abolishing the caste-based discrimination within DMK, ” he tweeted.

The Kaala director also wrote, ” The film Maamannan strongly portrays how caste-based disparities are prevalent in political parties that claim to stand for social justice. In the movie, a Dalit MLA was discriminated against by upper caste -members within the political party that claim to fight for social justice.

It rightly reflects the challenges faced by MLAs from reserved constituencies and why they hesitate to voice their concerns. Despite being part of political parties that advocate for social justice, why do they remain silent? Maamannan is an answer to these questions.” Ranjith said. 

From ‘ Parasakthi’ to ‘ Maamannan’

Taking the debate forward with his reply to Pa Ranjith’s remark, Udhayanidhi Stalin thanked the director. He further mentioned, ” Not only within the DMK, but within any party caste-based oppression and hierarchy must be completely eradicated. Udhayanidhi emphasised the DMK’s commitment to ensuring self-respect for all individuals and highlighted the party’s efforts to raise awareness among the public. He said that “the DMK government, when in power, has consistently protected social justice through various laws and programs.”

Udhayanidhi Stalin referred to Sivaji Ganesan’s Parasakthi (penned by his grandpa and late Chief Minister M Karunanidhi) and said that his party has been working on promoting social justice through art forms from Parasakthi to Maamannan. He acknowledged that the struggle for equality has spanned a century, fighting against a practice that has persisted for a thousand years. However, he also noted that a single film alone cannot bring about a revolution in society. It is possible to bring about this change among the people by following the footsteps of Periyar and Ambedkar. Let us come together to journey towards this.” Udhayanidhi tweeted. 

`மாமன்னன்’ திரைப்படத்தைப் பாராட்டிய இயக்குநர் சகோதரர் பா.இரஞ்சித் அவர்களுக்கு நன்றி. சாதிய அடக்குமுறைகளும் – ஏற்றத்தாழ்வும் கழகம் மட்டுமல்ல, எந்த கட்சிக்குள் இருந்தாலும் அது அறவே ஒழிக்கப்பட வேண்டும்.

அனைவருக்குமான சுயமரியாதையை உறுதி செய்ய, தொடர் பரப்புரை செய்து மக்களிடையே… https://t.co/i3FAanRGca

— Udhay (@Udhaystalin) July 3, 2023

However, DMK supporters took offence to Ranjith’s tweet and replied with abusive tweets targetting the young filmmaker.

READ MORE: ‘Maamannan’ movie review: Fiery premise, flaky results

<br /> Now is the time to discuss Tamil cinema. The time when young directors try to tread unchartered territories, especially wax eloquence about the persisting casteism in the land of Dravida politics. There are hits and misses here. But the young filmmakers are willing to take chances. Pa Ranjith is a classic example of a band of young filmmakers who, despite being commercial in their approach, were too willing to take up cudgels for the rights of the Dalits.  </p> <p>Now, let’s come to Mari Selvaraj’s Maamannan.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Pa Ranjith has lauded the recently released Maamannan penned and directed by Mari Selvaraj, starring Vadivelu, Udhayanidhi Stalin, Fahad Fazil, and Keerthi Suresh in the lead roles. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2′); });</p> <p>While commending the film’s portrayal of caste-based disparities within political parties, Ranjith highlighted the existing caste bias within Udhayanidhi Stalin’s own political party, DMK.</p> <p>Pa. Ranjith in his tweet said </p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>மாமன்னன் திரைப்படம், பட்டியலின மக்களின் சட்டமன்ற உறுப்பினர்கள், சமூக நீதியை கொள்கையாக கொண்டுள்ள அரசியல் கட்சியாக இருந்தாலும், கட்சியில் உள்ள மற்ற உயர் வகுப்பினர் சாதி அடிப்படையில் ஏற்றத்தாழ்வுகளை அவர்களுக்கு எப்படி நிகழ்த்துகிறார்கள் என்பதை அப்பட்டமாக காட்சிப்படுத்தி இருக்கிறது.…</p> <p>— pa.ranjith (@beemji) July 3, 2023  </p> <p>“Udhayanidhi Stalin as an actor, producer and minister deserves praise. Udhayanidhi is aware of the caste discrimination that still poses a significant challenge within the DMK party. Thorugh’ Maamannan, we believe Udhayanidhi will take the first step towards abolishing the caste-based discrimination within DMK, ” he tweeted.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>The Kaala director also wrote, ” The film Maamannan strongly portrays how caste-based disparities are prevalent in political parties that claim to stand for social justice. In the movie, a Dalit MLA was discriminated against by upper caste -members within the political party that claim to fight for social justice.</p> <p>It rightly reflects the challenges faced by MLAs from reserved constituencies and why they hesitate to voice their concerns. Despite being part of political parties that advocate for social justice, why do they remain silent? Maamannan is an answer to these questions.” Ranjith said. </p> <p>From ‘ Parasakthi’ to ‘ Maamannan’</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Taking the debate forward with his reply to Pa Ranjith’s remark, Udhayanidhi Stalin thanked the director. He further mentioned, ” Not only within the DMK, but within any party caste-based oppression and hierarchy must be completely eradicated. Udhayanidhi emphasised the DMK’s commitment to ensuring self-respect for all individuals and highlighted the party’s efforts to raise awareness among the public. He said that “the DMK government, when in power, has consistently protected social justice through various laws and programs.”<br /> Udhayanidhi Stalin referred to Sivaji Ganesan’s Parasakthi (penned by his grandpa and late Chief Minister M Karunanidhi) and said that his party has been working on promoting social justice through art forms from Parasakthi to Maamannan. He acknowledged that the struggle for equality has spanned a century, fighting against a practice that has persisted for a thousand years. However, he also noted that a single film alone cannot bring about a revolution in society. It is possible to bring about this change among the people by following the footsteps of Periyar and Ambedkar. Let us come together to journey towards this.” Udhayanidhi tweeted. </p> <p>`மாமன்னன்’ திரைப்படத்தைப் பாராட்டிய இயக்குநர் சகோதரர் பா.இரஞ்சித் அவர்களுக்கு நன்றி. சாதிய அடக்குமுறைகளும் – ஏற்றத்தாழ்வும் கழகம் மட்டுமல்ல, எந்த கட்சிக்குள் இருந்தாலும் அது அறவே ஒழிக்கப்பட வேண்டும்.<br /> அனைவருக்குமான சுயமரியாதையை உறுதி செய்ய, தொடர் பரப்புரை செய்து மக்களிடையே… https://t.co/i3FAanRGca<br /> — Udhay (@Udhaystalin) July 3, 2023<br /> However, DMK supporters took offence to Ranjith’s tweet and replied with abusive tweets targetting the young filmmaker.</p> <p>READ MORE: ‘Maamannan’ movie review: Fiery premise, flaky results<br />