The All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) has condemned actor STR for the sexism and misogyny in the lyrics of his recently-released “Trend Song”. The song is from the film Anbanavan Asaradhavan Adangadhavan. Vasuki, Vice-President of AIDWA told the media that it was against government rules to make money by degrading women,
She said, “Generally, artists and creators should be able to have some semblance of self-control when it comes to writing. This is what we’ve been reinforcing thus far. Why should we keep filing complaints and ask the police to step in for these issues? These are all educated people. People like Simbu know that there are government rules about gender equality. Degrading women, abusing women, and trying to make money or create popularity out of this is a punishable offence. Simbu must reform and this is a point we would like to reinforce here.”
In “Trend Song”, Simbu sings about how he lusts after his girlfriend and wants a one-night stand with her. Lyrics like ‘Iniku Mattum Nee Kadhal Panna Podhum’ and ‘Iniku Night Mattum Nee Girlfriend Aana Podhum’ were described as being rooted in sexism and misogyny. The popularity of the song with the youth of today is also being seen as a deeply troubling reflection of the mindset of certain sections of society when it comes to women.
STR has long been a proponent of so-called simple songs that have little to no meaning and are catchy. He began experimenting with this formula with “Loosu Penne” in Vallavan; and followed it up with infamous gems like “Evandi Unna Pethan” and “Beep Song”.
The latter in particular evoked much controversy. An FIR was lodged against Simbu, who claimed that he composed the song due to “love failure”. He subsequently asked for anticipatory bail in February 2016. Less a year since then, Silambarasan has landed in trouble for the same reasons.
