Neelam Cultural Centre, one of the anti-caste ventures of director Pa Ranjith, found itself the target of social media harassment after the clip of a song went viral and right wing groups wrongly claimed that it had been sung at the ongoing Margazhiyil Makkalisai (a folk music event) organised by Neelam Cultural.
In response to the online harassment, Neelam Cultural Centre put out a short statement on their social media platforms saying that the aim of Margazhyil Makkalisai was to “take the people’s art to the masses” and that yet, “many are spreading defamatory information and fake news about our festival”. The statement also says that the organisation intends to take legal action against those spreading such information.
Many including Tamil Nadu BJP spokesperson SG Suryah tweeted the clip of the song performance and used pejorative terms to describe women supporters of Pa Ranjith and the director himself. The clip features two singers- and one of them sings inappropriate lyrics that seem to encourage the sexual predation of a minor.
8 வது படிக்கும் சிறுவயது சிறுமியை கர்பமாக்குவோம், ஏன்னா அப்போ தான் எங்கள விட்டு போவாது - மேடையை கலக்கும் கானா பாடகர்.
— Vimal Varman (@RathinamVimal) December 21, 2021
பெண்கள் இந்த நாடக காதல் கும்பலிடம் ஜாக்கிரதையாக இருங்கள். pic.twitter.com/hw3L7jF9cY
.jpg?w=640&auto=format%2Ccompress)
This is not from Margazhiyil Makkal Isai.
— Manoj Prabakar S (@imanojprabakar) December 22, 2021
Check your facts - Don't fall for fake news. https://t.co/d0lKO9kHo4
Fact Check: The now deleted tweet by #BJP Spokesperson SG Suryah has a clip from an entirely different event, *not* Marghazhiyil Makkalisai organised by Neelam Cultural Centre. Here’s the link to the actual event: https://t.co/wL4LEFucpH pic.twitter.com/dqOahnXCOi
— Bharathy Singaravel|பாரதி| بارتي (@KuthaliPu) December 22, 2021
SG Suryah, later took down his first Tweet and clarified that the clip was not from any performance at Margazhiyil Makkalisai as he had earlier claimed. This did not help to contain the storm of tweets put out by many users of the social media platform who also appear to be opposed to Neelam’s politics. The hashtag #NeelamVibachaaraMaiam (“Neelam Prostitution Maiam”) began trending in Tamil alongside abusive insinuations against Neelam and director Ranjith.
அதாவது எட்டாவது படிக்கும்போது எடுக்கவச்சேன் வாந்தியனு பாடுறதுதான் பண்பாட்டு மையம் பண்ற வேலை..எப்பா டேய் அது உங்க பண்பாடுடா..எங்களுக்கெல்லாம் அது அசிங்கம்#நீலம்_விபச்சார_மையம் pic.twitter.com/2MqcAsp4r8
— அன்பில் வர்மன் (@AnbilVarman) December 22, 2021
This the revolution that @beemji is planning via @Neelam_Culture. Be ashamed of organising #MargazhiyilMakkalisai#நீலம்_விபச்சார_மையம் https://t.co/DfLPOONeMm
— வன்னியன்-Ram (@GS_Spathy) December 21, 2021
நீலம் பண்பாட்டு மையமா அல்லது நீலம் விபச்சார மையமா.?
— Va.sivaji (@sathriyansivaj) December 22, 2021
இதுக்கு தான் அம்பேத்கர் பாடுபட்டாரா நாய்களே.? pic.twitter.com/1vQLKTPzDy
Some Twitter users also used this controversy to evoke Pattali Makkal Katchi’s politics against inter-caste marriages about “naadaga kathal”—false romances. Many PMK leaders have claimed in the past years that Dalit youth “lure” non-Dalit women under “false” pretext of romance, and this bogey has made its way into several Tamil films too. The rhetoric had then been widely criticised by various other political parties in Tamil Nadu. The PMK is an ally of the BJP in Tamil Nadu along with the AIADMK.
எட்டாவது படிக்கும் போது எடுக்க வச்சன் வாந்திய .. #நீலம்_விபச்சார_மையம் pic.twitter.com/5bJRc8H2ij
— போர்குடி (மறவன்) ⚔️ (@LtWoHYDWO60pxd2) December 22, 2021
The YouTube video that was misattributed to Neelam has now been made private by the channel host. TNM has not been able to verify the context, if any, of the video as it is no longer accessible.