Recently, a video clipping of Kollywood director C Prem Kumar, went viral on social media. Prem Kumar, known for his film Meiyazhagan, was seen in an undated video of what looked like a discussion panel at Indian Screenwriters Conference.
He attributed the failure of Tamil films at the box office to the negative reviews by film reviewers. He said, “And Tamil cinema, what it’s facing is the negative reviews have become a big problem over there. It’s a huge problem. It is getting worse day by day, week after week. We used to have reviewers, we can call them reviewers. The breed what we have now, they’re not reviewers. It’s a different breed altogether and their target is different.”
He further said, “Because it is very uncivilized, I would say. The language what they use, the way they talk, what they target, it is very negative and they are targeting the first week. They have an agenda. So once when you target the 1st week revenue, naturally producers will come to you for their next movie. And you know the number of paid reviewers is more than 90% now. The genuine reviewers are like in fractions I would say. Even the honest reviewers I’d say, they don’t have the talent or capacity to properly review a film. It’s like hardly one or two they are able to give a good review. And they have a very niche audience who listen to them. The rest all go by the negative reviewers. It is having a big impact on the box office because they decide whether to go to the movie or not, I mean into cinema halls based on these reviews. So, that’s a huge problem we’re facing in Tamil Nadu, I don’t know about the other states. It is getting very worse and it has to be addressed. I hope the producers, either from within the state or all the states, they come together, get some regulation on this.”
"Tamil Cinema is facing a big problem with Negative reviews. Not everyone, but many reviewers are doing with an agenda to pull the film down & target the first week collection. Even honest reviewers don't have capacity to review a film"
– Premkumar pic.twitter.com/zvegObMPVL— AmuthaBharathi (@CinemaWithAB) July 9, 2025
Why Is This Problematic?
Meiyazhagan, the film that received a lot of acclaim from movie lovers, had an agenda in itself. The film had an unnecessary scene showing portraits of EV Ramasamy Naicker (hailed as ‘Periyar’ by his followers) and Hindu God Murugan in the same frame, indicating that Tamil people celebrate EVR as much as Murugan.
The film had nothing to do with EVR but he still inserted it into the film which irked film goers. Prem Kumar even justified the scene in an interview with acclaimed film critic Baradwaj Rangan. He said, “Tamil people are like that. As much as we go to a Murugan Temple, we celebrate Periyar too. He is literally like a clan deity for us. Because if he had not fought, I’m not sure if we would’ve got this much rights. A few were there before and after, but the impact that he gave is almost in our genes. Even to this generation, he’s relevant as youngsters proudly wear t-shirts that say ‘I’m Periyar’s grandson’. We should venerate him.”
The Meiyazhagan director then went on to expose the typical separatist undercurrent present in the mind of a Dravidianist, saying, “Because we’re so educated today, we’ve a fighting spirit in us, we boldly talk back. All over India, we’ve our own separate identity as Tamil Nadu. Other state people fear us. That fear comes from him.”
Kumar further went on to peddle half-truths about how EVR was not against any religion and how he is hailed as a ‘Vaikkom Veerar’.
It is to be noted that EVR had spoken derogatorily about Lord Murugan, and neither was EVR a “Vaikkom Veerar”.
Additionally, over the years, ever since the availability of internet and democratization of voices with platforms like YouTube, Instagram etc, normal cinema goers have become aware of the propaganda and real agenda behind the films doled out in Kollywood. Given that the first family of the state owns a production house, in order to survive in the industry, many if not all the members of the industry are seen pandering to the separatist and Hinduphobic agenda of the Dravidianist powers that be.
The Commune has also played a small role in exposing such agenda-driven films which has helped more and more people understand the truth. People aren’t avoiding well-made films, in fact, they actively support authentic content. But when someone like Prem Kumar resorts to blaming individuals, labeling them as uncivilized or agenda-driven, it ends up revealing more about him than about the audience.
Films like Kanguva, Thug Life, Retro, Indian 2, which bombed at the box office, bombed for a reason – pathetic film making.
So, if the likes of Prem Kumar want films to do well, they rather provide good content that people will enjoy and cherish and not dump trash on them.
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