Two women VJs from Sun Music are facing the wrath of fans and social media users after they made comments about actor Suriya's appearance.
In the show Franka Sollata, which takes potshots at celebrities and also discusses film industry gossip, VJs Sangeetha and Niveditha joked about Suriya's height. The comments were made in the context of discussing a KV Anand-Suriya film in which it's rumoured that the director had approached Amitabh Bachchan to play a role.
Referring to his Singam series, in which he'd acted with the tall Anushka Shetty, the VJs said that if Suriya had to act with Amitabh Bachchan, he might have to use a stool or sit down and do the shots. Their comments have been slammed by many on social media, including people from the film industry like actor Vishal – who is the general secretary of the Nadigar Sangam and president of the Producers' Council – producers Dhananjayan Govind Gnanavelraja and SR Prabhu, among many others.
Funny !! ???? Absolutely not. How unethical in the name of sense of humour. Totally senseless. pic.twitter.com/0e4netQd6s
— Vishal (@VishalKOfficial) January 18, 2018
Several have rightly pointed out that it is not okay to body shame anyone. For too long, body shaming has been the subject of comedy in mainstream cinema and TV shows, with dark skin, weight, height and even disability becoming pegs for "humour'. And it is the film and entertainment industries which have, ironically, made this brand of comedy socially acceptable.
However, while this definitely needs to change, the women VJs are now predictably being showered with abusive and misogynistic language ever since the video went viral. Film critic Sudhir Srinivasan put out a series of tweets about the abuse and threats made in the star's name:
Those remarks on @Suriya_offl are absolutely distasteful. This is one of the reasons the philosophy of @XpressCinema is that we treat cinema with dignity.
— Sudhir Srinivasan (@sudhirsrinivasn) January 19, 2018
What's also distasteful is all the violence those girls are threatened with. You can condemn, and not kill, you know.
You're pissed off that someone insulted your hero's body, and your response is to come up with more horrible abuses? Acid attack? Do you not see the irony? You think your star will be pleased about such retaliation?
— Sudhir Srinivasan (@sudhirsrinivasn) January 19, 2018
I do think though that stars have a moral responsibility to guide their fans from time to time. Make a statement. Show how secure you are by pointing out how little you're affected. You know, come out the bigger person by asking your fans to relax and ease out from the abuse.
— Sudhir Srinivasan (@sudhirsrinivasn) January 19, 2018
It's not just limited to cinema. I notice a bigger pattern, a larger force at work. We don't just politely disagree anymore. We disagree with rage. We disagree with violence. We want to make sure nothing is ever disagreeable again. The state of affairs is gut-wrenchingly sad.
— Sudhir Srinivasan (@sudhirsrinivasn) January 19, 2018
In case you disagree with what I said, come, be a friend, and let's talk to each other. Maybe, just maybe, we may just convince the other with reason. If we don't, at least we will have tried.
— Sudhir Srinivasan (@sudhirsrinivasn) January 19, 2018
And more importantly, we'll both have been civil... and crucially, felt safe.
Disturbingly, many have called them "mentally ill", with producer Gnanavelraja, who bankrolled Suriya's Thaana Serndha Koottam, adding that they should "spit" on themselves. Using mental health as an insult or as comedy has been a common trope in the entertainment industry and Kamal's Bigg Boss was recently slammed for it by medical professionals.
Dump ******** need to be treated in some mental hospital..look into the mirror and spit on yourself @sangeethas23 @NivedhithaVJ https://t.co/7vUClJ6WRt
— Gnanavelraja (@kegvraja) January 18, 2018
அங்க யாருக்கும் மூளை வளர்ச்சியப் பத்தியெல்லாம் அக்கறை இல்லையா? @SunMusic https://t.co/vmlUAF0iGH
— S.R.Prabhu (@prabhu_sr) January 18, 2018
In Suriya's Pongal release, TSK, the actor makes a reference to his height for which he has been trolled in the past too. In one of the scenes, he says one's height is not important, it's the heights a person reaches that's important.
So far, neither Sun Music nor Suriya have responded to the issue.