Udhayanidhi Stalin Reacts To Reports Claiming Maamannan 'A Propaganda-driven Film'

Maamannan, written and directed by Mari Selvaraj, hit the big screen on June 29 and received accolades from the audience. But now, the film has also drawn controversy over its subject matter. Actor Fahadh Faasil, who essays the antagonist, Rathinavel, is shown as a person with a caste-biased mindset. On the other hand, actor Vadivelu is shown as a member of the legislature from a fictional political party Samatthu Samathu Neeti Makkal Kazhagam.

The flag of this political party is designed in two colours, red and black, which reminds of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s party flag. Keeping these aspects in mind, reports have questioned whether Maamannan is a propaganda-driven film made at the behest of DMK ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.

Udhayanidhi Stalin, who essays the role of Veeran in Maamannan, is a member of the political party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. He is also the Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development. Udhayanidhi has responded to this controversy and said that whosoever has done this, is just a mistake that can be rectified later. Also, he added that presently, he doesn’t know whether he will continue acting in films or not.

Not only this, but Maamannan also hit troubled waters when a film producer named Rama Saravanan filed a plea to stop its release. Hearing this plea, Madras High Court issued a notice to Udhayanidhi and his home production Red Giant Movies. The plea had demanded that the actor and politician should complete the shooting and dubbing for his film Angel.

According to reports, the petitioner had demanded Rs 25 crore as compensation from the Oru Kal Oru Kannadi actor. According to the petition, Angel went on floors in 2018 and 80 per cent of the shooting had been completed. However, it could not proceed due to a lot of reasons like the COVID-19 pandemic and the induction of Udhayanidhi into the state Council of Ministers.

The producer later alleged that Udhayanidhi is not providing the dates as per the contract to complete the remaining 20 per cent shooting of the film. The plea also mentioned that the actor has breached his contract after having taken on another project before Angel’s completion. The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court had rejected the interim injunction plea against Maamannan.