Tamil cinema has a strange concept when compared to Bollywood. In Bollywood, we have this obsession of having our heroes with Greek God looks and heroines as fairer-than-milk angels from heavens. In Kollywood, things are slightly different. There, the audiences want the hero to be one among them, an everyday man who can rise up among the masses and lead them. Gree God looks are not important for them, only acting talent and the ability to deliver powerful monologues. That's why actors like Rajinikanth, Vijay, Vijay Sethupathi, Sivakarthikeyan rule to roost and we appreciate that! However, when it comes to the lead actress, both Bollywood and Kollywood, unfortunately, share the same trait when it comes to commercial cinema. SeemaRaja Star Sivakarthikeyan OPENS Up on Allegations That His Movies Promote Stalking.
A Twitter user, going by the thread @anusrini20 has been exposing this sexist trend existing in Tamil Cinema through a sarcastic thread. She had used examples of the casting of Tamannaah Bhatia, the British-born Amy Jackson, Hansika Motwani, Kajal Aggarwal etc as rural-bred, 'homely' Tamil girls. Priyanka Chopra, Amy Jackson, John Krasinski Remember 9/11 on 17th Anniversary.
Check out the thread, that has gone viral within no time, below -
Kajal Aggarwal
An example of a very traditional + homely Tamil girl from Madurai, also referred to as Marudakkaari#PaayumPuli #wishfulfillment pic.twitter.com/03cdPGFypq
— Anusha Srinivasan (@anusrini20) September 8, 2018
Tamannaah
Another Tamil girl, this time named Koperundevi. She herself seems amused by this #DravidianFantasy.#Veeram pic.twitter.com/YGQJVH9NCe
— Anusha Srinivasan (@anusrini20) September 8, 2018
Hansika Motwani
Meet Tamil girl Yazhini, daughter of a Tamil teacher and lover of #MaanKarate. She thanks the director #Thirukumaran for teaching her the Tamil alphabet over the duration of the shoot. pic.twitter.com/YoFp3KFBrp
— Anusha Srinivasan (@anusrini20) September 9, 2018
Amy Jackson
Meet schoolteacher Annie, who finished high school not too long ago. She is a Malayali, learning Tamil from an oversmart toddler called #TheriBaby. Hopefully #Atlee also taught her how to eat mini idlis with sambar. pic.twitter.com/bsu0XdIFyq
— Anusha Srinivasan (@anusrini20) September 10, 2018
Rakul Preet
Meet Priya, wife of Theeran. Innocent and chirpy and bubbly. She is not the best at schoolwork but she’s a great wife, according to #HVinoth. She was planning to learn Tamil but the dacoits ruined her plan. #TheeranAdhigaramOndru pic.twitter.com/yyRsYQR96d
— Anusha Srinivasan (@anusrini20) September 12, 2018
Unfortunately, this sexist trend, prevalent in many film industries, is not something that will go away easily. You can either blame the film-makers or the audience for bringing rise to this sexism, but if changes have to be made, both the parties should accept them. It's time that talent, rather than the colour of the skin, determine your casting.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 12, 2018 02:25 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).