Tamil lyricist Vairamuthu has kicked up a row after calling Rajinikanth’s “Kabali” a failure. Speaking at an event on Sunday, the noted lyricist, who has in the past penned songs for the superstar, said,
“There are people on this dais who started wearing suits and coats much before Rajini. So, Ranjith should have ‘copied’ the style from people here.” He also went on to say, “There are certain things which cannot be explained or justified. Like the case of the missing IAF flight, Kabali’s failure…”
While Rajinikanth’s fans came down hard on Vairamuthu, “Kabali” producer S Thanu waded into the controversy, saying he was critical because he had not been allowed to write for the film. “We were not in a position to let him write lyrics for ‘Sachin’. Later when I produced ‘Thuppaki’, he asked again, and we couldn’t. Now, he is being venomous in his criticism of ‘Kabali,’“said Thanu to Silverscreen. Thanu also accused Vairamuthu of claiming 4000 free tickets for the film on the first day.
Filmmaker Pa Ranjith, who was accused of copying Rajini’s style, also reacted to the controversy. “I have immense respect for a few people in society. Vairamuthu is one such person. I am wondering what triggered him to come up with this statement. Many people have been spreading negative reviews about the movie and I have not reacted to it. I don’t think I will be commenting on this issue further,” Ranjith told iflicks.
Since the controversy broke out, the lyricist has issued a statement clarifying his words. He said that he had inadvertently missed out a word during his speech on Sunday. “I couldn’t catch the right words. I meant to say it is hard to understand “Kabali‘s” success or failure, and I left the word ‘success’ out inadvertently,” Vairamuthu clarified in his statement.
He also noted that Rajinikanth and him share a good friendship and has clarified the issue with the actor.