Draupadi to 90 ml: 5 Tamil films that created controversies and turned out to be huge hits

One of the industries in India that love controversies is the entertainment industry. Whenever political remarks are made in a film or whenever a film has a woman lighting up a cigarette, there will be 100s of 1000s screaming at the pitch of their voices, advocating for the ‘Indian culture’. While some of these ‘protests’ by the public were much needed, others did nothing but trigger outrages.

While Kamal Haasan is known for such controversies, Thalapathy Vijay recently joined the list, as almost all of his movies are being targeted off late. Be it political parties or moral policies, one thing that has been understood from all these controversies is that movies that are being opposed are turning out to be huge hits. 

1. Draupadi

Directed by G Mohan, the recent film that made headlines for all wrong is Draupadi. While majority of people suggested that the film’s ideology is pro casteism, others stated that the film spoke reality. The director, in his interviews, has openly stated that he would make more such film. The film made controversies so much so that it was not even reviewed by famous critics. Draupadi talks about how men from ‘lower-caste groups’ woo ‘upper-caste women’ with the sole intention of changing their casts. The film also had many relevances with the infamous real-life dishonor killings that happened in Tamil Nadu. One cannot help but notice the similarities of scenes in the film with the 2013 dishonor killing of Ilavarasan, a Dalit youth. He was in a relationship with Divya, a woman from a caste Hindu family. Even in the trailer, it was shown. The trailer starts with the corpse of a man near the railway tracks, which portrays the exact situation of how Ilavarasan was found dead on the railway tracks. The film also had some relevance to the infamous Pollachi rape case. Despite all criticisms that the film received, it turned out to be a mega-hit film.

2. 90 ml

Directed by Anita Udeep, 90 ml surrounded the lives of women, who drank alcohol and smoked cigarettes. The adult film had Tamil Bigg Boss 1 fame Oviya as the lead actor, while STR aka Simbu played a cameo. A huge number of people protested against the film as it showed women involving in ‘anti-cultural activities’ like drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes. 90 ml had a pretty decent run in the box office, and almost everyone who watched it, discouraged the film, saying that it would influence the woman of the state in a ‘negative way’.

3. Boys

Helmed by ace director Shankar, Boys had Siddharth and Genelia D'Souza as the leading actors. Bharath, Nakhul, S Thaman, Manikhandan and Vivekh played supporting roles. The film showed the life of a gang of 5 rebel boys, who fled their homes to have their own lives. After the parents of Siddharth and Genelia discovered about their love, they eloped and got married with the help of their friends. Abandoned by their family, the film shows how youth can go to heights if encouraged well. This film was criticised and slammed by people, who alleged that the film was being a bad influence to students. However, Boys was a blockbuster and it still has a huge fan base.

4. Mersal

Thalapathy Vijay, who has joined the club of controversial actors recently, played the lead role in Mersal, which was directed by Atlee. The film had Nithya Menen, Kajal Aggarwal and Samantha Akkineni as female leads. Vijay was seen in three different roles in Mersal. What sparked controversy in the film was when a particular dialogue was interpreted by Tamil Nadu BJP leader H Raja. The film had a dialogue, which suggested that people should spend money on hospitals instead of temples. Though a massive controversy was followed after H Raja’s allegation, the film turned out to be a blockbuster.

5. Vishwaroopam

Kamal Haasan is no stranger to controversies surrounding his films. Starting from Devar Magan to Virumaandi, almost all of his films run into controversies somehow. In fact, there are only a handful of Kamal Haasan movies which did not receive any backlash. However, the film that caused him major trouble was Vishwaroopam, so much so that the actor had an emotional breakdown right in the middle of a press meet about the film. Following a lot of cases and threats, when the film hit the big screens, it turned out to be a huge hit.