The Hindu Huddle 2025: ‘Every film is political,’ remarks Vetrimaaran-OxBig News Network

Vetrimaaran in conversation with Baradwaj Rangan at The Hindu Huddle.
| Photo Credit: K. Bhagya Prakash

Tamil filmmaker Vetrimaaran, known for dealing with political themes and social commentary in his films, said cinema cannot escape politics. Speaking at The Huddle by The Hindu, Vetrimaaran opined every film makes a political statement, directly or indirectly.

“Man is a political animal. The way you dress, talk, or what you read has politics in it. Every film is political,” said the filmmaker, during his conversation with film critic Baradwaj Rangan in a session titled ‘Let’s Get Gritty: Indigenous Cinema in a Mainstream Environment. 

“An overtly political movie isn’t as political as the one that subtly insinuates politics. When you put out something openly, the average moviegoer may or may not take it because he knows what’s coming at him. On the other hand, people get influenced by ideas like chauvinistic expressions of a man or the role of women in a relationship, because they don’t come with a tag of being political. People accept such themes without resistance,” he explained.

Vetrimaaran said he had a key takeaway from the Viduthalai films (Part 1 and Part 2), his most politically charged project. While Viduthalai Part 1 hit the screens on March 31, 2023, the second installment released on December 20, 2024. The filmmaker expressed he wished he had more to make Viduthalai Part 2.

“My biggest lesson from the project was that as a director, you shouldn’t allow anyone to determine how long it will take to make your movie. I should have taken my time. Ideally, I would have liked an additional 3-4 month period to work on the project,” he confessed.

While he admitted that he has no plans to continue the Viduthalai series, Vetrimaaran added that Vada Chennai is his only unfinished project yet. Vada Chennai, starring Dhanush, hit the screens in 2018. The makers had promised a sequel to the Tamil movie after it received massive critical and commercial acclaim. “It will see the light of the day,” said Vetrimaaran.

The National Award-winning filmmaker is set to collaborate with Suriya for Vaadivaasal. The movie is based on the novel by the late writer CS Chellappa. It is about Jallikattu, an ancient Tamil sport, and the taming of the bull ‘Kaari’ by a character named Picchi, whose father Ambulithevan was gored to death by the bull. 

Talking about the expectations from the project, Vetrimaaran said, “I don’t want to get caught in the entire exercise of responding to expectations. Between my last film and my next project, I am only working towards giving my 100 percent towards my work. I am not responsible for the expectations created by my movies.”

Vetrimaaran also addressed the topic of the film industry giving opportunities to female technicians. “Recently, a young girl came to my office, asking for a chance to be my assistant. She told me she was from Coimbatore but was living with her friends in Chennai. Around two decades ago, I was in a similar situation. I can see a lot of young girls coming up with unique ideas. If these stories were told by men, they would be fake.” 

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