Irandam Kuthu director Santhosh in his latest statement has apologised for his tweet in response to Bharathiraja’s letter. “A regret, An Apology & A promise to @offBharathiraja sir and everyone,” reads his tweet.
In his letter, Santhosh who will be making his debut as an actor has said, “I responded in the heat of the moment and tweeted. It was something that I did without realising what I was doing. After doing it, I felt in my heart that I should not have responded. Therefore, I express my regret for my tweet."
A regret, An Apology & A promise to @offBharathiraja sir and everyone @proyuvraaj @UVCommunication @Rockfortent pic.twitter.com/2rEMOeJapJ
— Santhosh P Jayakumar (@santhoshpj21) October 10, 2020
Additionally, the director has also promised to make sure the upcoming promotional material of his film will be suitable for viewing by all types of audiences.
On Friday, Santhosh has tweeted a photograph from Bharathiraja’s Tik Tik Tik, a 1981 thriller starring Kamal Haasan, Madhavi and others and asked the filmmaker to check his hypocrisy. Earlier that day, Bharathiraja, in an open letter, condemned the promotional material released by Santhosh for his upcoming film, Irandam Kuthu, an adult horror-comedy.
Bharathiraja had said that it was unbearable for him to watch the teaser and wrote, “Such vulgarity is not becoming of Tamil cinema, I condemn this. I insist that the government and the Censor Board have a tight grip over such things.”
Irandam Kuthu is the sequel to Santhosh’s 2018 adult horror comedy Iruttu Arayil Murattu Kuthu. In addition to Santhosh, this sequel stars Akriti Singh, Daniel Pope, Meenal, VJ Sha Ra and Motta Rajendran.
Responding to Bharathiraja’s letter, Santhosh had written, “With all due respect to him. Tik Tik Tik movie in 1981 la idha paathu koosadha kannu, ippo koosirucho...? (your eyes didn't shy away from this image but they are being bothered now?)”.
However, in his latest statement, the young director has heaped praises on Bharathiraja and expressed his apologies for contradicting the former’s statements.
“There are many who work towards attaining at least one percent of what Bharathiraja achieved during his period. Director Bharathiraja stands as a guide for many directors and continues to do so. I should not have responded the way I did to him,” he has said.
The row between the experienced and the young directors, Bharathiraja and Santhosh, had many taking sides on the representation of women in Tamil cinema. While some expressed their support to either one of the directors, some have also pointed out how, even with the passage of time, the male gaze continues to objectify women on screen in Tamil cinema.