Vetrimaaran, the director of the recently-released Tamil film Vada Chennai has announced that the scenes deemed offensive to the fishing community in northern Chennai, where the premise of the film is set, will be deleted.
In a video statement released by the director on Monday, he apologised to anyone who may have been hurt by the film.
“A few fisherfolk groups have posted that few of the scenes in the film have degraded their community and has caused hurt. Our intention is to never to indulge in politics or make a film against any marginalised community. If the characters and events in the film hurt anyone then we express our regret and apologize for it,” he said.
Vada Chennai or North Chennai is home to a majority of the fishing community in the city. The film chronicles 30 years in the life of a gangster from North Chennai. According to posts on social media since the film’s release, members of the fishing community took umbrage to certain scenes in the gangster flick that stereotyped their lives.
Speaking of the specific scenes that will now be deleted, Vetrimaaran said, “They (the fishing community) have said that few of the scenes in the film, especially the wedding night scene on the ship, has been very degrading. We have decided to remove that scene from the film. We have started work today. We have sent it to the audit committee. It will take 7-10 working days. We will definitely remove it.”
Further, Vetrimaaran said that the two planned sequels of the film starring Dhanush will also deal with the portrayal of North Chennai.
“It is not our intention to portray someone poorly and make money and fame out of it. At the same time, our intention is also to show in the sequels of the film the livelihood struggles of the youth from north Chennai and show how they have overcome their struggles in various fields, including sports,” he added.
The film, that was three years in the making, finally released on October 17.
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