A few months ago, lyricist Vairamuthu confirmed that he was penning songs for Mani Ratnam's upcoming film Ponniyin Selvan and that the music will be composed by A R Rahman. The collaboration of Mani Ratnam and A R Rahman along with Vairamuthu for this project had received a lot of backlash for the makers given that the lyricist was accused of MeToo by almost eight women including famed singer Chinmayi Sripada. Recent reports suggest that after receiving enough flak for their collaboration, the lyricist is no longer on board for the project. Was Rajinikanth’s Thalaivar 168 the Reason behind Keerthy Suresh Walking Out Of Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan?

As per Indian Express, the makers announced the entire cast and crew of Ponniyin Selvan recently and that it had no mention of Vairamuthu. Despite being named by so many women, the lyricist continued to get opportunities while the women who came forward were shunned by the industry. This news has certainly come as a ray of hope for those who didn't believe that MeToo could make a difference.

Reacting to the same, singer Sripada who was one of the women who came forward against the lyricist wrote on Twitter, " If anything I hope the #MeToo movement told girls here that men demanding sex in return for work is not OK. Understand consent. And understand harassment. I am in debt to those who have been a voice to all of us, joining in, asked and demanded questions. Public pressure can change things. That’s democracy. No better time to remember that than now." Vikram Prabhu, Karthi, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Keerthy Suresh Come Together for Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan?

Check Out Chinmayi Sripada's Twet Here:

While the makers of the film are yet to confirm the reason why the lyricist's name was missing from the initial announcement or the reason for his ouster but surely if it is owing to the #MeToo movement, it is a step forward. As for Ponniyin Selvan, the film stars Aishwarya Rai, Vikram, Trisha, Karthi, Jayam Ravi, Lal, Sarath Kumar, Jayaram, Vikram Prabhu, Ashwin Kakumanu, Kishore in pivotal roles.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 18, 2019 12:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).