They say blood is thicker than water, but if you ask me, Tamil cinema and misogyny are stronger than the strongest adhesive, no lie. For years and years, plenty of Kollywood movies have objectified women, from featuring derogatory “item songs” to dialogue that fixes gender roles and dress customs. Oh, Good Lord. It’s so sad that despite raising voices for years, misogynistic Tamil movies are still being produced in n numbers because the audience loves them. The viewers love the funny dialogue teasing a woman’s appearance and supposedly bad-girl personality.
Thankfully, some directors are breaking the stereotype with beautiful movies like Aruvi. Still, the chase behind shaming women hasn’t stopped and probably won’t because the actors starring in such flicks have a huge fandom. Here are some of the most famous movies that cast influential actors who shamelessly put womanhood down.
8 Misogynistic Tamil Movies
Sivakaasi
South India’s favourite thalapathy Vijay’s classic Sivakaasi, features wonderful songs and brilliant dance moves by the actor. Great. But is that all? Of course not, because the chemistry between Vijay and Asin is another aspect to look at. Now moving to the main content, there is this amazing speech that actor Vijay gives explaining to Asin how her western attire is shameful that, compared to the Indian outfits, is a disgrace to womanhood.
Ironically in the songs, Asin is given outfits that clearly aren’t decent, according to what the male lead said. Whoever the scriptwriter is, hopefully, the person has unlearned and learned.
Mannan
Superstar Rajinikanth’s movies, like plenty of them, have super-educated women falling for his wits after he educates them on how to be a real woman. In the movie Mannan, he explains to the female lead that a man should majestically walk with his head up while a woman must be super obedient to him. Okay. This is just one of the scenes from one of his movies. There are plenty of his other films that include some seriously questionable things.
Oru Kal Oru Kannadi (OK OK) – 2012
The viewers loved the Santhanam and Udhayanidhi Stalin duo in OK OK, because the lead actress chucks him and almost marries another guy. The whole movie portrays the actress as someone who falls in love with someone’s riches and hates her man’s best friend. But in reality, the best friends are absolute idiots who go around falling for lots of women. Then what’s the point? An entire song dedicated to boys advising them not to trust women is still a jam for many, but are we really right about that?
Doctor – 2021
A very recent movie acted by Sivakarthikeyan is problematic. Even after years of shunning movies portraying women as terrible, Doctor came up with an even more terrible plot. The main protagonist falls in love with a woman who dislikes him for being a nerd. Then her niece gets kidnapped, and the guy comes in to save the day. During the process, the actress is portrayed as dumb, and in the end, she’s heard saying that it’s best to leave with her saved niece and leave all the other kids who are trafficked. However, the hero majestically says he can’t do that.
No woman at such a crucial point would tell that, and if she indeed says that, why do you marry her in the end? Pointless. The dark humour using feminine personalities is an irritating factor in the movie. To insult a villain, they ask him to dress as a woman. So dressing up as a woman is a disgrace?
Padayappa – 1999
Another movie starring Rajinikanth, Padayappa, follows a rich girl getting obsessed with a man who rejects her and marries her maid. Why does he marry her? Because she’s uneducated and wears a saree, unlike the rich woman who is back from America with modern standards. Rajinikanth again educates that women should be soft, well-mannered, and not aggressive. Even after they all grow old, the rich girl, who is now an old lady, still obsesses over the guy. Please, stop with such a dramatic story please.
Vallavan – 2005
Similar to the above movie, Vallavan starring Simbu is also questionable. When Simbu falls in love with professor Nayantara, he hides the fact that he is young. When the truth comes out, the couple split. Next, his obsessive ex-girlfriend Reema Sen returns to make him hers. Among this chaos, the movie includes a song where Simbu flirtatiously dances with both girls. Is this important? Of course it is because we have to show the macho side of the guy. Sigh.
Puthiya Paadhai – 1989
In many old films where the setting is a village, many Tamil films include a sexual assault scene and a panchayat meeting where the leader announces that the victim should marry the assaulted, and they do. After years, a 90s movie came out titled Puthiya Paadhai, where the victim marries her assaulter and tries to change him into a good man. Additionally, the movie received National Awards, seriously?
Kaatru Veliyidai – 2017
Kollywood celebrates the combo of director Mani Ratnam and Music producer A R Rahman because the energy they give together in romantic movies is a game changer. That said, Kaatru Veliyidai is one of their flopped productions because the plot is absurd (the songs are beautiful, not going to deny that fact).
The male lead, Karthi, falls in love with Aditi Rao Hydari head over heels but is mentally unstable. Despite his abusive character, she still loves him. He also tells her that men are created to hunt women while women are made to procreate and look pretty.
There are still so many movies, and the list will continue if I add movies from the 60s. Sadly even after the Me Too Movement and Feminism became the talk of the town, directors are not stopping with their pointless plots, including women as an object to shame and belittle. Hopefully, one day, it’ll change. Hopefully.
If you have other suggestions, let us know in the comment section.
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