During the trailer launch event of Netflix and Dharma Productions’ upcoming film Meenakshi Sundareshwar, on Thursday, debutant filmmaker Vivek Soni addressed the criticism the film has been receiving for its stereotypical portrayal of Tamil people and Tamil culture ever since the release of the its teaser.
Soni explained that Meenakshi Sundareshwar is eventually a Hindi film set in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
“There are two aspects in this case- either I make the whole film in Tamil which will make it a Tamil film which is not bad, but I essentially wanted to make a Hindi film. Ao either we go all out and make it in Tamil or you keep an accent which we did not want to do because then it becomes stereotypical, which you guys have been discussing, then it feels like we are making fun of the language. So, we have kept Hindi as the medium and in between used a few words to add flavour,” said Soni.
The romantic comedy starring Sanya Malhotra and Abhimanyu Dassani as per the official synopsis, “encapsulates the various interlinked aspects of relationships, joint families, the awkwardness in a new marriage and everything in between.”
The film’s teaser gives a glimpse of a Tamil-style wedding, a Tamil folk song with a chorus hook that refers to the Tamil film icon Superstar Rajinikanth, and other references to the actor as well. However, the dialogues are almost entirely in Hindi and English, with the female lead, who is portrayed as a Tamilian, only heard using one Tamil word, ‘illa’ [meaning ‘no’].
Following the teaser’s release, several social media users, especially Tamil people, have criticised the film for typecasting. Some of the criticisms that were shared on Twitter included remarks on the seeming lack of research, the fact that Tamil characters are essayed by Hindi speakers, usage of cliche words like ‘illa’, the costume choices for the female lead, and the use of the Rajinikanth references.
Pointing out that there are no accents or aiyyos in the film, the head of creative development (scripts) at DharmaProductions, Somen Mishra asked audience to first watch the film and then discuss. “Don’t shoot it at the teaser or the trailer of the film.”
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“Don’t judge a new filmmaker’s work with the past works or mistakes of other filmmakers. I know we come with a baggage, but wait for the film to release. It takes years for a new filmmaker to make his first film, so it is important to understand the filmmaker’s gaze which is about love, passion, honesty and dedication, which is not exactly similar to what previous filmmakers have made in the past,” he added.
Speaking of the Rajinikanth reference, Soni said, “I know there are lot of great iconic actors down south like Ajith, Suriya, Vijay, but for me personally, after MGR, there is no bigger superstar than Rajinikanth, he is my personal favourite as well which is the reason we chose to keep him in the film.”