In India, we have numerous Hollywood-inspired nicknames of the various regional film industries, like Kollywood, Bollywood, and Tollywood. Kollywood has always been an integral part of Indian cinema for the past 100 years and has served its audiences with utmost delight.
Politics has always made its rancorous presence felt at every affair of the country. Be it your food habits (the debate on the beef ban), lifestyle (enforcement of dress codes inside temples), during natural disasters (the huge debacle concerning the efforts of the ruling government), and likewise in the Tamil film industry as well.
It has been a really hard time for each movie to surpass all the industry’s odds and gain the likes of the audiences at the Box office. It was in 2013 when it all started for Kollywood. Veteran actor Kamal Hassan’s magnum opus “Vishwaroopam” made the headlines even before the movie’s release, all for the wrong reasons. The Madras high court imposed a ban on the movie following complaints from various political parties, stating that the movie depicted the Muslim community as very unruly. The directors and the actors of the Tamil film industry are being denied to portray their true thoughts and feelings to the audiences as well.
Another major armory used by these parties is caste politics. Any movie which finds itself open to casteists will certainly be subjected to battering among the political parties. Whenever a movie portrays a conflict between the Thevar and Dalit communities, it always ends in a rage between the two communities.
Political parties have most often used the cine field as a platform to persuade voters by their side. To reach this wide audience pool and garner their votes, this has been the outrageous policy followed by them.
During the aftermath of the Chennai floods disaster, many opposition parties criticized the state government for providing proper facilities to the stranded people out in the streets. Along with their loyal media troops, some political parties have often defended key cases and investigations from coming out to the public by pettifogging with those of the cine field to divert attention. One such scapegoat was the beep song recorded by young actor Silambarasan which is now facing a huge backlash. It seems that the actor will soon be put behind bars on the grounds of a crime that is not even worth being on the headlines of this high magnitude.
Well, once again, the political parties involved have used Kollywood as a gateway to get out of their own miseries whenever they like. Kollywood has often suffered from being the battleground for seeking political vendetta among the regional parties. The artists have been used as sacrificial pawns for carrying them out. Kollywood is severely suffering from this stain dug deep on its shoulder and desperately looking for that tide that can sweep and cleanse them away.
