Vetrimaaran: ‘If you are not taking a stand, it means you are standing by the oppressor’

Director Vetrimaaran has lately been making films about oppression. Be it Asuran, a bloody tale of a socially backward farmer, or his latest film, Viduthalai Part 1, an anti-establishment film about the violence meted out by police in tribal villages, the director has been making powerful statements with his movies. Speaking about the same, Vetrimaaran, at the roundtable of Cinema Express, credited director Pa Ranjith for the movement. He also shared his thoughts on social justice, and how an individual shouldn’t shy away from standing up for the oppressed.

When asked what’s his view about people who can afford not to take a stand when it comes to issues that films like Viduthalai and Maamannan deal with, Vetrimaaran said, “Imagine a couple is fighting on the road. And the man is beating the woman. If you just pass by without interfering because it is their issue, you are supporting the man. There is no one called a by-stander. If you are not taking a stand when it comes to the issue of oppression, it means you are standing by the oppressor.”

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Vetrimaaran noted that the movement of social justice happened in Tamil cinema after the rise of Pa Ranjith. “He became a force and started producing films like Mari Selvaraj’s Pariyerum Perumal. Now, everyone is trying to do their part. If you ask me if we have attained a socially equal place, I don’t think so. On top of that, we are also stuck with the problem of political correctness. Mari was telling me how it was stopping him… in a good way. But again it is a double-edged sword. We have to note how political correctness is limiting us sometimes.”

Vetrimaaran is currently working with Ilaiyaraaja for his upcoming film Viduthalai Part 2, which has Vijay Sethupathi and Soori in the lead roles.