Tamil Hindi Telugu Malayalam

Maamannan, Thevar Magan discourse: What is it all about

PUBLISHED DATE : 21/Jun/2023

Maamannan, Thevar Magan discourse: What is it all about

Mari Selvaraj directed Maamannan starring Udhayanidhi Stalin, Vadivelu, Fahadh Faasil and Keerthy Suresh in lead roles is all set to release in theaters from June 29, 2023 [Thursday], and the movie had an intense trailer release recently. Just like Mari Selvaraj's other two films Pariyerum Perumal (2018) and Karnan (2021), Maamannan is a serious movie with caste oppression, particularly oppression of Dalits with violence as a central theme. 

 

At the audio launch of Maamanaan which happened prior to the trailer release, Mari Selvaraj stated that he had watched Kamal Haasan's famous 1992 movie Thevar Magan before making all of his three films. To the uninitiated, 'Thevars' aka the 'Maravars' are a dominant caste who once held a repute for indulging in mindless violence even among their own. Kamal Haasan's self-scripted movie inspired by the 1973 Kannada film Kaadu (starring the late Bollywood actor Amrish Puri), highlighted how this community's pattern of harmful behaviour was affecting everyone, and holding them back from progressing in the society. It also, decades before Vetrimaaran's Asuran, gave out the message that education was the ultimate redemption.

However a movie preaching to the Thevar community, also meant showcasing glorified aspects of the clan and for decades, this turned out to be an unintended consequence for the 'Thevar pride'. This when a dominant caste like the Maravars still held an upper hand over the socially suppressed, as shown in Thevar Magan itself with the Kamal Haasan (Shakthi Thevar) - Vadivelu (Esakki, a loyal-to-a-fault character from another caste) dynamic. 

 

Mari Selvaraj hails from the Tirunelveli/Thoothukudi region and this part of Southern Tamil Nadu has long-played host to communal disharmony between the Maravars and the Dalits. It came as no surprise hence, when the director revealed that Thevar Magan 'distressed' him 'greatly' and that he 'did not understand whether the movie was right or wrong'. He also said,

 

"On one hand, Thevar Magan is elevated for its film language. On the other hand, it created a huge impact on me. Maamannan is a result of all the pain, distress and the positive and negative emotions I experienced after watching Thevar Magan...I wanted to see how it would be if my father was in this world (of Thevar Magan)..Maamannan is a film I made for my father...What if Esaki (Vadivelu's character from Thevar Magan) transformed into a King of Kings is the story of Maamannan.”

It is worth mentioning here that unlike other filmmakers with a voice for the suppressed, Mari Selvaraj holds a repute for showcasing factually consistent realities (like the Kodiyankulam incident in Karnan which was escalated by a Chennai-based high ranking police official, and not the local dominant caste), and not entirely antagonizing the opposition (like in Pariyerum Perumal). Kamal Haasan who was a witness to Mari Selvaraj's mention of Thevar Magan during the Maamannan audio launch, even acknowledged the same stating,

 

"What I like about Mari is that he always gives space to his opposition. When you are enraged, those things wouldn’t come to mind, but Mari does that in every film. He comes from a place of justice...Maamannan is also my film. This is my politics too..."

 

You Might Also Like: karnan-politics-timeline-debate-jayalalithaa-karunanidhi

User Comments