As cinephiles in Tamil Nadu gear up for Deepavali with the release of Amaran, a biopic on Ashoka Chakra awardee Major Mukund Varadarajan, many question the involvement of actor Sai Pallavi who is known for equating Indian Army actions to terrorism, describing Naxalism as a legitimate “ideology,” and comparing the Kashmiri Pandit genocide to stray cow-smuggling incidents. Many argue that her role in a film honouring a national hero is at odds with her past remarks, questioning the choice of casting her in a patriotic narrative.
Questionable ‘Amaran’ Team
The film Amaran, a biopic on Major Mukund Varadarajan, is up for release on Deepavali Day, 31 October 2024. Ever since the trailer was released, netizens and fans have been analysing it because questionable names are associated with the film.
Who are these questionable people, you ask? The film is being produced by Raj Kamal Films, owned by Kamal Haasan, a full-time actor, part-time politician, DMK ally, and Makkal Needhi Maiam founder. The Kollywood film is distributed by Red Giant Movies, owned by the DMK first family.
Additionally, the film features actor Sai Pallavi, who rose to fame with her pimple-faced girl-next-door look in Premam.
At such a juncture, some old videos of Sai Pallavi exposing her wokeness and ignorance started making the rounds on the internet.
Here are snippets from a Telugu interview she had given a few years ago. These are some of the statements she makes in the videos.
Naxalism Is An Ideology
In what seems to be a video interview around the time her film Virata Parvam was released (2022) when asked by the interviewer how she felt about the naxal uniform and guns and if she had any sympathy towards them, she says, “It is an ideology. You might have an ideology but for me, violence is a wrong form of communication. I don’t think now that we can solve this only if we are violent. But at that time, they did not know how to express their problem to them. When there is a law, we have to see what is right and what is wrong. At that time, no one knows where to go. So, they formed a group for themselves, and their mindset is that they will only say what is right and what is wrong. We are not in that situation; it happened long back.”
Does Sai Pallavi realise that naxalism is still active in several parts of the country (yes, it has been cracked down by the Modi government)? Does she realise how it affected families in states like Chhattisgarh? Does she realise how far back the Naxal-affected states and communities were when they were thriving?
It looks like she has no clue of what Naxalism is, what the Naxalites have been doing – absolutely no clue. Her statement that ‘they didn’t know how to express their problem’ about Naxals is plain ridiculous. Perhaps she should spend time with families of security personnel killed by these ‘ideologues’ before spouting such nonsense.
Indian Army Is A Terrorist For Pakistanis
In the same video, she is seen saying, “People in Pakistan think that our army is a terrorist. Because they feel that they are there and they (the army) are harming them. For us, they are terrorists. So the perspective changes. I don’t understand violence. It is very difficult for me to understand it. It is very difficult for us to say what is right and what is wrong. At that time, they believed that justice will come only if we do this. Only if we do this, we can do good to our children and family.”
Can Sai Pallavi provide proof that the Indian Army crossed the border and killed civilians? Are Indians occupying Pakistani land? Maybe Sai Pallavi needs several history lessons – Pakistan refused to accept the mortal remains of its soldiers during the Kargil war. It was India and its army that gave them a decent burial.
Not only does Sai Pallavi expose her shocking ignorance, but her comments about the Indian Army are borderline seditious. How dare she equate our brave soldiers with terrorists while enjoying the freedom and security they provide?
Equating Kashmiri Pandit Genocide To Cow Smuggling
In the same interview, she is seen saying, “A few days ago Kashmir Files film was released. In the film, they showed how the Pandits were killed at that time. Coming to more recent times, during COVID, if you are taking a religious conflict comparison, recently, someone was taking a cow in a vehicle. The ones driving the vehicle were Muslims. Some people lynched them and made them say, Jai Shri Ram. I cannot find the difference between what happened then and now. So if you ask me if leftists or rightists are good, they are not good if there is no justice on either side. When you are a good human being, whichever side you are on, everything becomes neutral.”
It cannot get worse than this – how can a sane person even compare genocide with beating up a cow smuggler? Trivializing a mass murder must be made a crime. Does she even know who Kashmiri Pandits are, does she know what they went through – should Sai Pallavi be made to relive the horrors of Raliv, Galiv, Ya Chaliv for her to understand and empathise with the Kashmiri Hindus?
Her comparison of the two situations shows her callous disregard for the systematic ethnic cleansing of an entire community. The sheer audacity to dismiss the systematic genocide of Kashmiri Hindus by comparing it to random criminal incidents shows either profound stupidity or malicious intent. Which is it, Pallavi?
Sai Pallavi’s Choice Of Films So Far
Shyam Singha Roy, released in 2021, was blatantly anti-Hindu and anti-Brahmin. The story is overtly Hinduphobic and vividly expressed through the lead character “Shyam”‘s experiences with Hindu traditions. In this film, Hindu traditions are not just inaccurately depicted; they are deliberately twisted to provoke disgust. The usual tropes of a “social justice hero” film – untouchability, the evil Brahmin, the exploitative Devadasi system – these are manipulated to show Hindus and Hinduism in the worst possible light.
Compounding this further e grim reality is the portrayal of a corrupt and evil Brahmin pandit, who views the Devadasis as sex slaves and engages in paedophilic acts. It seems like Sai Pallavi’s journey towards wokeness began here.
Her next film, Virata Parvam which was released in 2022 is based on Naxalism – the perfect next step. While the director claims he did not intend to romanticize naxalism, he also says, “Sticking to the facts would have made the film a docu-drama. He introduced a love story for cinematic appeal.” The story revolves around the heroine played by Sai Pallavi who falls in love with a naxalite (the lead) because of his poetry and in a bid to make him reciprocate her love, she dedicates herself to the “cause”! <Slow claps>
Who better than Sai Pallavi who thinks naxalism is an ideology similar to “peace” taken up by people who wanted to get their demands met to play the female lead role? Oh and, while she philosophizes about ‘violence being wrong’, she had no problem collecting a paycheck for romanticizing Naxal violence in Virata Parvam. Talk about selective morality!
First Shyam Singha Roy’s Hindu-bashing, then romanticizing Naxals in Virata Parvam, and followed by that interview – there’s clearly a pattern here. Sai Pallavi seems to have found her niche in peddling anti-Hindu, anti-national narratives while masquerading as a “character artist”.
The film Amaran seems to once again contain elements that are very visibly anti-Brahmin and anti-Indian, and the trailer does not appear to do justice to Major Mukund Varadarajan’s and his family’s supreme sacrifice. What’s more outrageous is that Sai Pallavi, who can’t tell the difference between terrorists and our armed forces, is a part of Major Mukund Varadarajan’s biopic. Is this some sick joke?
She is also said to be playing the role of Ma Sita in an upcoming film. Will Ma Sita be portrayed as a woke woman or will she distort the character and the film in some other way?
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