After facing criticism, singer and voice artist Chinmayi Sripaada issued an apology on December 1 for her association with Draupathi 2, directed by Mohan G — a director known for anti-Dalit films. Chinmayi clarified that she would have refused to be a part of the film had she known it was directed by Mohan G.
The film stars Richard Richi and Rakshana Induchoodan.
Chinmayi has performed the song ‘Emkoney’. Music for the film is composed by Ghibran. The song’s promo was released on December 1, prompting backlash against the singer.
Clarifying how she unintentionally became part of the film, Chinmayi said in a statement, “At the outset, my heartfelt apologies for Emkoney. Ghibran is a composer I have known for 18 years, since my jingle-singing days. When his office called for this song, I just went and sang as I usually do. If I remember right, Ghibran wasn't present during this session – I was given an idea on how to sound tonally for the song; I finished the recording and I left.”
She added, “It is only now that I have got to learn about the context. If I had known beforehand, I would never have collaborated because the ideologies are in complete contradiction to mine. This is the absolute truth.”
Director Mohan G is known for his caste supremacist films that particularly appeal to the Vanniyar community (Most Backward Class).
The first instalment of Draupathi (2020) targeted Dalits, accusing them of “tricking” dominant caste women into marriages. This echoes the ‘naadaga kaathal’ anti-Dalit narrative set by the Vanniyar majority Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK). The allegation of ‘naadaga kaathal’ is similar to the ‘love jihad’ conspiracy and is rooted in maintaining caste endogamy.
Mohan G’s subsequent film, Rudra Thandavam (2021), also promoted caste hatred against Dalits by reinforcing harmful stereotypes that portrayed them as criminals, drug peddlers, or politically manipulative.
Rudra Thandavam was also criticised for its unfounded claims that Dalits exploit the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act by filing false cases against dominant caste men.
The director’s previous film, Bakasuran (2023), was slammed for blaming women for the violence inflicted upon them.
Amidst the criticism against Chinmayi, director CS Amudhan attempted to intervene, saying that singers are often unaware of details regarding the film and director.
“If you think a singer gets to ask these questions, you probably don’t know how TFI (Tamil film industry) works. There are many other people up the food chain who are culpable & actually in the know. Don’t go after the low-hanging fruit,” he said.