We (I) are all low class audiences. For me, in a film, the hero should fight hard, and the heroine should be glamourous,” said director Suraaj, with a smirk, during his interview to a Youtube channel, while talking about his latest offering, the Vishal-Tamannaah starrer Kaththi Sandai.
But, he didn’t stop with that. In response to the question about Tamannaah’s role and costumes in the film, he replied, “I don’t like heroines to be draped fully in a saree. Audience pay to watch a film, and they come with the mindset to see a glamourous Tamannaah. A heroine should do glamorous roles — and only those who have done so — made it big in the industry. If they want to hone their acting skills, they can resort to television serials. But when it comes to commercial films, they are in fact paid to showcase their glamour.”
Ever since the interview went viral, the filmmaker has been at the receiving end for his blatantly sexist remarks. “Does he think we are strippers to shed our clothes just ‘cause we are paid money?” lashed out Nayanthara to a prominent film website, while several other celebrities and general public have been openly criticising and venting out their anger towards the director.
When we contacted Suraaj, he apologised and wished to clarify that it was apparently just a ‘joke’ — “I was asked by the interviewers to give a humorous interview and I just did that. Hurting Tamannaah’s or any other woman’s sentiment was not my intention. If my joke came out in a wrong way, I’m sorry. I’m making it very clear that I’m a director who makes comedy films and I would never ever disrespect women. Tamannaah is a very good person and I hope she would understand.”
But taking offense at his remarks in the video, the actress posted online — “This is 2016 and it is very ironic that I had to leave a film like Dangal in the middle which is on women empowerment to tackle this issue. I am very hurt and angered by the comments made by my director Suraaj and I would definitely want him to apologise not only to me, but to all the women in the industry. We are actors and we are here to act and entertain the audiences and should not at any point be objectified as commodities. I have been working in the South industry for over 11 years, and have worn costumes which I have been comfortable with. It is sad that women in our country are spoken about so frivolously and I would like to tell our audiences that our industry should not be generalised due to comments made by one such individual.”
Suraaj, in the same interview, also stated, “Whenever a costume designer tells me that if my heroines are feeling uncomfortable about a particular outfit, I strictly insist them to do what I say.” Reacting to this, designer Sakrit Krishna shares his point of view — “Though I’ve not watched the video yet, I can say that a few issues happen now and then. As costume designers, our main work is to design or select costumes that are required for specific scenes — nothing more, nothing less. In most cases, there’s an agreement between a director and an actress, well before the shoot of a movie.”
But when an actress feels uncomfortable, due to reasons like public image or personal boundaries, we try our best in striking the balance between the actress and the director’s demand. On the other hand, sometimes, problems arise due to the actress’ circle also — I don’t want to reveal the name, but we had to alter the dress of an actress just because her boyfriend didn’t approve of it! During those cases, we’re a little helpless,” Satkrit adds.
Filmmaker and actress Lakshmy Ramakrishnan says, “I can’t believe such men still exist – the ones who look at women as objects of pleasure! I hope he remembers, that the same heroines he talks about represent his mother and sisters (if he has any) too.”
But she also adds that a few heroines are to be blamed — “He rightly said the heroines who agreed to be portrayed in glamorous roles have made it big. Yes, the day every girl realises her responsibility and decides not to negotiate her self-respect for name and fame... that day such men will become extinct.”
Emey, social activist and character artiste, who has also acted in Suraaj’s Thalainagaram says, “The video was shocking. I strongly condemn his words. Being in the film industry, how dare Suraaj makes such cheap and atrocious comment on actresses? And that too on Tamannaah, who has acted in two of his films. Just because producers pay big money, does he think heroines agree for skin show? Moreover, the heroines are paid according to their market value and not for shedding their clothes. These false and irresponsible comments will only damage the Tamil film industry’s reputation and mislead women who want to join cinema. We demand a public apology from Suraaj, failing which we would stage a ‘black flag protest’ in front of his house.”
(With inputs from Balajee CR)
