What happened to Tamil religious movies?

Disclaimers

• The following article is not religiously neutral
• The article is an opinion piece. Although facts have been referred to, the interpretation and inferences from the facts are by the writer. The readeris free to agree or disagree with the sentiments expressed.
• The word “Hinduism” is used to collectively refer to the various schools of religious thought that are found in India among people who follow Sanatana Dharma, Saivism or any other ancient form of Indian religion.

In Tamil Nadu – a state where Hindus form 78.9% of the total population, it is surprising to note that Hindu religious films are now virtually non-existent.

From the early days of silent cinema and the early talkies, religion, history and myth were the basis of almost all movies.

The boom in religious films came in the 1960s with the success of the 1965 Sivaji Ganesan starrer, Thiruvillaiyaadal and probably peaked with the release in 1967 of A.P. Nagarajan’s multi-starrer, Kandhan Karunai.

The success of these films created a boom in Tamil devotional films that explored not only the religious texts, but also delved into practical application of Hindu thought in modern living.

Movies like Deivam gave a detailed account of the six sacred abodes of Lord Muruga and also examined how these Temples impacted on the lives of ordinary people. The songs in Deivam were all picturised on the singers of the original songs – the best known names in devotional music at the time. Deivam was a runaway hit.

The 1971 film, Aadhi Parasakthi also spent much of the film looking at how ordinary people could apply principles of Hinduism through thought and behaviour and brought to the fore the uniqueness of Hinduism in worshipping God in the feminine form. This film too was also a blockbuster hit.

The 1975 film, Swamy Ayappan brought into focus the little-known account of Lord Ayyappan through a movie that was a huge hit across territories that screened Tamil films, and saw the followers of Lord Ayappan increase dramatically. This film was also boosted by a beautiful soundtrack.

1975 also saw the release of the semi-religious film, Thiruvarul which dealt with the challenges and triumphs of a devotee of Lord Muruga.

Varuvaan Vadivelan (1978)was a semi-religious film that looked at how the lives of ordinary people were transformed. The film also had a ten-minute song that featured hitherto unseen footage of the Batu Caves Thaipoosam Kavadi festival, which even today is one of the biggest Kavadi festivals outside of India, and one of the largest of all religious festivals in South-East Asia. In South Africa, the owners of Odeon Cinema in Silverglen, Chatsworth transformed the entire foyer into a huge shrine resembling the inside of a Temple. Prayers were offeredby a Hindu priest and every person who went to watch the movie was given a small packet of Sakkara Pongal (sweet rice).

The trend of devotional films continued, each enjoying various levels of popularity and success, but none quite reaching the heights of the previous films. The songs, which formed the backbone of the success of the earlier devotional films, simply could not recreate the old magic and these films, handicapped by weak storylines, poor casting and all-too-ordinary songs began to falter at the box-office.

The next turning point for Tamil religious films came with the dubbing into Tamil of the Telugu hit film, Amman that made extensive use of special effects and computer graphics. The success of this film saw a string of films in similar vein, but the common criticisms of these films is that the story arc was the same as a horror thriller, with most of the films dealing with some kind of bloody retribution. This saw a string of such movies, none of which did much positive for the growth of this genre.

The 2011 film Seedan which saw Dhanush play a pivotal guest role was the only film that deviated from this trend and it looked like Tamil devotional films would follow a different trajectory – but something more sinister happened within the film industry.

The industry is still largely controlled by the family of the late M Karunanidhi. Between Sun Pictures and Red Giant Movies, they have control over most cinema houses and distribution chains, and can effectively dictate how many screens can be allocated to each film. The atheism of this family is something every Indian knows and, strangely, accepts. More than atheism, this family is largely anti-Hindu.

It is no accident that the last decade of Tamil films has been dominated by caste-based stories. The use of communistic and socialist motifs and symbols are no longer subtle but plain for all to see. The film industry is now almost completely under the influence of leftist and communistic ideology. Like communism everywhere else, it is usually supported by a vehement opposition to religion.

The growing Anti-Brahmin sentiment was given momentum by EV Narayanasamy Naicker – known to his followers simply as Periyar. The anti-Brahmin sentiment has now transformed into a strong anti-Hindu movement that labels Hindu practice and rituals as regressive and primitive. Maniratnam, Vettrimaran, Mari Selvaraj and Pa. Ranjith all have atheistic agendas and there is a growing movement to ridicule and trivialise Hindu beliefs in their films. Can anyone forget what Maniratnam did with Ponnyin Selvan 1 & 2?

As recently as the year 2022, when R Madhavan said that the Indian Space Research Organisation used the Panchangam (Hindu almanac) for calculations in launching their rocket to Mars, he was badly trolled until he was forced to retract these words.

The situation is so bad that even a person like Sivakumar, who is very learned in all the major Hindu texts, blindly follows the atheistic leanings of the DMK-dominated Tamil Nadu landscape. Needless to say, that he has found strong support with both his sons, Suriya and Karthi.

In the current climate, no producer would run the risk of making a Hindu religious film because it simply is not the flavour of the day. Ironically, a person in the film industry can wake up in the morning, pray at home, go to a Temple before going to work, launch a film with a prayer but still speak ill about the beliefs of his parents and grandparents, and willingly be part of a film that attacks the very foundation of Hindu principles.

This situation will not change as long as the people of Tamil Nadu are under the spell of the atheistic DMK. The fact that the overwhelming Hindu majority can still vote for an anti-Hindu party is testament to how powerful a tool carefully-orchestrated propaganda can be. As long as the DMK continues to dominate the film industry using mafia-style tactics, there is little hope for the return of good quality Tamil religious films.

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