Upset by govt's cultural policing, Arunmozhi returns National Award

While writers and filmmakers across the country have been returning the awards they have received from government institutions as a mark of protest against some of the central government's policies, Tamil Nadu has hardly seen any such protest. But now, S Arunmozhi, one of the writers and co-producer of the 1982 film Ezhavathu Manithan, which won the National Award For Best Feature Film In Tamil, has announced that he will be returning the award given to the film.
The film, directed by K Hariharan, had actor Raghuvaran in the lead role and was about workers at a factory protesting against their employers for exploiting them. Arunmozhi had co-produced the film with Palai S Shanmugham, who passed away a few years ago. Says Arunmozhi, 'The film is a rage against the establishment and I felt that it would be an insult to the film if I did not join the protests against the central government's cultural policing, which is resulting in a threat to freedom of expression and giving rise to religious intolerance.'
He says that he was angered by how many noted artistes in the state have not been perturbed by the beef ban and the murder of writer MM Kalburgi. He says that he had sent messages to prominent activist figures in the film industry like Bharathirajaa, B Lenin, Vairamuthu, Cheran and Ameer, asking why they were silent on this issue, and when he received no response, he decided to take the first step.
He says that he had discussed returning the award with Hariharan, who did not share his ideology, but still told him to go ahead with his wish. He announced his decision on Thursday night at a literary meeting in the city, and said he has already notified the film festival officials about his decision.