The Tamil Nadu BJP through its arts and culture cell felicitated several senior artists from the Tamil film industry as well as several achievers from other fields of work on 5th January, 2023 in Chennai. Cash awards were given out to several good short films that were based on social issues which were selected by Jury formed under the well-known Tamil film director, Mr. Bhagyaraj.
On the surface, this would look like a normal function. However, this is a masterstroke of Annamalai’s BJP to counter Dravidian Stockist cinema. The BJP in Tamilnadu today is a very different organization under K. Annamalai. Like how the central BJP under Modi saw a radical change, the Tamil Nadu BJP under the leadership of Annamalai has acquired a new dynamic personality.
Tamil Nadu electorate is significantly influenced by the movie industry today. In order for BJP to catch the imagination of the public, they have to come up with several strategies and cannot just depend on a political discourse criticizing DMK government on issues like dynasty, corruption, law and order, misadministration etc. They have to penetrate into the movie industry and make themselves visible to the common people in Tamil Nadu even in the villages who keenly follow this entertainment industry which is dominated today by DMK. This award function was a big step in this direction.
Already we have seen several movie directors and producers in Tamilnadu speaking up publicly against the ideology and functioning of DMK like Perarasu, Kanal Kannan, JSK Gopi, Draupadi movie director Mohan G Kshatrityan and so on. Several producers, directors and actors today are not liking one distribution company relating to a big political family almost monopolizing the business. This is a very good opportunity for Annamalai’s BJP to make lot of friends in this industry and start pushing a different narrative through this very impactful medium in Tamil Nadu and register themselves in the minds of the public.
The fact that a strong industry like Bollywood that was ruled by a few people that were able to push their ideologies into the minds of common man so far through their movies, is staring at an inevitable phase of reinventing themselves speaks volumes of why Tamily entertainment industry ruled by a couple of families cannot avoid going through this inevitable churn soon. The other fact that Bollywood is now forced to do historical movies revolving around Hindu rulers like Prithviraj, Tanhaji etc. moving away from movies glorifying Mughal emperors like Jodha Akbar etc., the fact that more movies are being made with more Indian flavor in them moving away from movies with western outlook entrenched in them, the fact that Ponniyin Selvan release made a movie director in Tamil Nadu think that it had a Hindu flavor in it prove the point that movie industry is not immune from politics and changes based on changes in the politics of the time. Dravidian parties have always influenced the voters through the movies. Annamalai understands that very well and has taken this smart first step.
The second important thing to note is the award resembles a Hindu deity and not the usual type of awards given earlier that carefully distanced themselves from using Hindu symbols. This is a big statement sent out by Annamalai’s BJP that they will not hesitate to project the innate spiritual culture of Tamil Nadu.
The third important takeaway is naming these awards as Tamil Thai awards dedicated to mother Tamil. This shows how serious BJP is promoting Tamil through every possible medium. They could have easily given this an English name but they carefully chose this name to send out a message to the Tamil Nadu public that they really do what they say.
Hence, this award function is more than just what meets the eye and is a masterstroke by Annamalai and team BJP.
The work to dismantle Dravidianism in Tamil cinema has begun.
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Tamil Thaai Awards, BJP’s Move To Dismantle Dravidianism In Tamil Cinema
The Tamil Nadu BJP through its arts and culture cell felicitated several senior artists from the Tamil film industry as well as several achievers from other fields of work on 5th January, 2023 in Chennai. Cash awards were given out to several good short films that were based on social issues which were selected by Jury formed under the well-known Tamil film director, Mr. Bhagyaraj.
On the surface, this would look like a normal function. However, this is a masterstroke of Annamalai’s BJP to counter Dravidian Stockist cinema. The BJP in Tamilnadu today is a very different organization under K. Annamalai. Like how the central BJP under Modi saw a radical change, the Tamil Nadu BJP under the leadership of Annamalai has acquired a new dynamic personality.
Tamil Nadu electorate is significantly influenced by the movie industry today. In order for BJP to catch the imagination of the public, they have to come up with several strategies and cannot just depend on a political discourse criticizing DMK government on issues like dynasty, corruption, law and order, misadministration etc. They have to penetrate into the movie industry and make themselves visible to the common people in Tamil Nadu even in the villages who keenly follow this entertainment industry which is dominated today by DMK. This award function was a big step in this direction.
Already we have seen several movie directors and producers in Tamilnadu speaking up publicly against the ideology and functioning of DMK like Perarasu, Kanal Kannan, JSK Gopi, Draupadi movie director Mohan G Kshatrityan and so on. Several producers, directors and actors today are not liking one distribution company relating to a big political family almost monopolizing the business. This is a very good opportunity for Annamalai’s BJP to make lot of friends in this industry and start pushing a different narrative through this very impactful medium in Tamil Nadu and register themselves in the minds of the public.
The fact that a strong industry like Bollywood that was ruled by a few people that were able to push their ideologies into the minds of common man so far through their movies, is staring at an inevitable phase of reinventing themselves speaks volumes of why Tamily entertainment industry ruled by a couple of families cannot avoid going through this inevitable churn soon. The other fact that Bollywood is now forced to do historical movies revolving around Hindu rulers like Prithviraj, Tanhaji etc. moving away from movies glorifying Mughal emperors like Jodha Akbar etc., the fact that more movies are being made with more Indian flavor in them moving away from movies with western outlook entrenched in them, the fact that Ponniyin Selvan release made a movie director in Tamil Nadu think that it had a Hindu flavor in it prove the point that movie industry is not immune from politics and changes based on changes in the politics of the time. Dravidian parties have always influenced the voters through the movies. Annamalai understands that very well and has taken this smart first step.
The second important thing to note is the award resembles a Hindu deity and not the usual type of awards given earlier that carefully distanced themselves from using Hindu symbols. This is a big statement sent out by Annamalai’s BJP that they will not hesitate to project the innate spiritual culture of Tamil Nadu.
The third important takeaway is naming these awards as Tamil Thai awards dedicated to mother Tamil. This shows how serious BJP is promoting Tamil through every possible medium. They could have easily given this an English name but they carefully chose this name to send out a message to the Tamil Nadu public that they really do what they say.
Hence, this award function is more than just what meets the eye and is a masterstroke by Annamalai and team BJP.
The work to dismantle Dravidianism in Tamil cinema has begun.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.