Raja Raja Cholan Is Not Hindu – Kamal Haasan On Ponniyin Selvan 1 Movie & Vetrimaaran’s Controversial Speech

Director Mani Ratnam's Magnum Opus movie Ponniyin Selvan 1 was released on September 30, 2022 across the globe in four languages Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi. The film is based on writer Kalki's Ponniyin Selvan Novel. People started celebrating the film and it is creating magical numbers in the box office collection. At the same time, Ace Director Vetrimaaran's recent speech in an event at Chennai about Raja Raja Cholan created strong debates in Tamilnadu. He said "In today's world, we should handle and protect the art very carefully. If we allow someone to mishandle it, our own identities will be easily looted away from us. Earlier they tried giving a saffron color to the famous Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar. Now they are trying to make Raja Raja Cholan as a Hindu King. They started this process with arts and literature initially. Now it is happening in cinema as well. It is our duty to protect our identities. In order to do so, we should have good clarity in politics."

In such a situation, Kamal Haasan watched Ponniyin Selvan 1 with Actor Vikram and Karthi. During the press meet conducted after the show, Kamal Haasan appreciated the film and all the technicians involved in its making process. When the press people asked his take on the recent controversial statement of Vetrimaaran, he reacted with a strange gesture and said "The name Hinduism was not discovered during Raja Raja Cholan's period. They had only Vainavam, Saivam and Samanam then. The term Hindu was coined by british people later." Kamal Haasan's reply immediately went viral all over the internet.

These statements from the socially responsible Tamil filmmaker Vetrimaaran and Ulaganayagan Kamal Haasan within just few days after the release of Mani Ratnam's Magnum Opus Ponniyin Selvan 1, created strong debates not only in film industry but also among political leaders and social activists of Tamilnadu. Lot of celebrities started supporting Vetrimaaran for his guts to speak out the truth about the great king Raja Raja Cholan. On the other hand, few politicians stand against director Vetrimaaran's speech. "Raja Raja Cholan is a Hindu King or a Tamil King?" is the current sensational discussion in Tamilnadu.