‘The Women Asked For It’, Say Reviewers of Tamil Remake of ‘Pink’

Reviewers of Nerkonda Paarvai, Tamil remake of Pink make misogynist comments in their video. Chinmayi responds.

R S Anantham, J Bismi and C Sakthivel, made derogatory, sexist and misogynist comments against women, in a video review of ‘Nerkonda Paarvai’, the Tamil remake of the movie ‘Pink’, starring Ajith Kumar, Shraddha Srinath and an ensemble cast.

The video in question was posted on Valai Pechu, a YouTube channel dedicated to Tamil cinema news, celebrity interviews and film reviews.

Here are some excerpts from the ‘review’ of Nerkonda Parvai.

Do we (audience) feel sorry for those women? No. Because they come across as upper class women. Also they go to pubs, and at 19 they first have sex, and then have sex with two other boys. So when all of this is revealed, we feel, ‘who cares what happens to them’?

R S Anantham, film reviewer

In Pink, the women going to pubs, having sex with boys...all of this can be common in the north. That’s why it did well in the north, and the women characters did not grate on the audience. But when it comes to Tamil, our culture, our way of life...these characters are alien to us. That’s why we get a nonchalant attitude about whatever happens to them (on screen).

J Bismi

While the original video was posted on YouTube, a clip with the above quotes went viral on Twitter. A number of tweets were addressed to playback singer and dubbing artist Chinmayi Sriprada, who was the face of the MeToo movement in Tamil cinema. Eventually, she too responded with a quote-tweet.

The everyday misogyny and justification of ‘They asked for it’ by 3 mainstream Tamil reviewers. https://t.co/kUtnifheAC

— Chinmayi Sripaada (@Chinmayi) August 6, 2019

While ‘Nerkonda Paarvai’ releases on 8 August in India, it premiered in Singapore today (6 August). A special screening was organised for some members of the media in tandem with the premiere. The film stars Ajith Kumar in Amitabh Bachchan’s role. Shraddha Srinath and Abirami Venkatachalam play the roles of Taapsi Pannu and Kirti Kulhari respectively. Andrea Tarian reprises her role in the Tamil remake as well.

Political talk show host and TV celebrity Rangaraj Pandey plays Piyush Mishra’s role, as the advocate who stands for the accused.