The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Culture of violence against women in films condemned

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 20, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Culture of violence against women in films condemned

Speakers at a meeting organised by Tamil women writers at the Devaneya Paavanar Library on Monday condemned the culture of violence against women in films.

They said the recent Tamil movie Sandakozhi, directed by Lingusamy and scripted by S. Ramakrishnan, had made an insulting reference to writer Kutty Revathy.

Writers, academics and activists pledged their support to campaigns against `underhand insults targeting women' in Tamil cinema.

Writers, including Kutty Revathy, Malathi Maithri and Sugirtha Rani, objected to the alleged reference at a recent event where S. Ramakrishnan's books were released. Their objection received wide coverage from sections of the Tamil media. Speakers noted that media organisations, which trace their roots to the Dravidian movement and Periyar's teachings, were now trying to silence and discipline women.

Poet Ramesh, Balabharathy of AIDWA, writer A. Marx, theatre artist Prabhanjan, V. Arasu, head of the Department of Tamil, Madras University, and filmmaker Venkatesh Chakravarty asked that the campaign be widened to address the oppressive nature of gender disciplining. Letters of support from writers Kanimozhi and Ambai were read out.

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