Directors including the award-winning Vasanthabalan and Sankagiri Rajkumar, who made Vengayam, have requested that actor-director Cheran leave the Bigg Boss house because it does not behove his stature to stay there.
This follows the telecast over the past two days, in which the inmates were asked to act like some iconic characters in Tamil cinema. Cheran got to play Rajinikanth in Johnny, while Saravanan, already infamous for his ‘groping in the bus’ remarks, was to play Vijayakanth in Chinna Gounder. Yesterday’s episode saw the two blame each other, and Saravanan lost his temper and yelled at Cheran.
Vasanthabalan put up a post on his Facebook page where he said that the Bigg Boss house is no place for someone like Cheran, who used to occupy a position of intellectual superiority, thanks to the films he made.
“You used to reside where the hawks flew. You’ve made classics such as Bharathi Kannamma, Porkaalam and Autograph. The termite called time cannot destroy you or your creations. No one in the Bigg Boss house knows your prowess; they will tend to equate you and Saravanan. Remember, you are the same person who stepped down from your post in the Directors’ Union because you were slighted. Please leave this house. Don’t reduce your stature as an artiste.”
Soon after this, in a statement released through his publicist, director Rajkumar reminded Cheran that he occupied a special place in people’s hearts. “You’re the kind of person who has reinvested everything you earned in cinema, and faced difficulties because of that. Everyone believes what happens inside the Bigg Boss house. A girl alleged you touched her inappropriately, an actor called you in the singular. It is painful to see an artiste of your calibre this way. You said that you entered the house because Vijay Sethupathi spoke to you about it. After seeing all this, I hope the same Vijay Sethupathi brings you back from the house, so that you do not suffer further shaming. If not, many others like me who have benefited by your benevolence will barge into the house and rescue you.”
