Parasakthi director Sudha Kongara claims targeted attacks on fim: 'You know where it is coming from'

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, Sudha Kongara said, "We have a long way to go before we take the film to where it needs to reach – and I have to do it in this day and age of marketing. Just allowing your film to speak doesn't seem to be enough. I am hoping it takes off during the Pongal weekend, reaching more people."

The film is based on the 1960s anti-Hindi agitation that took place in Tamil Nadu. The director further spoke about the intentional defamation and slandering against the film since its release in theatres. "There is slandering, defamation of the worst kind, hiding behind unknown IDs. We have to counter that. You wonder where it is coming from – and you know where it is coming from," she said.

In the interview, Sudha also spoke about an X post that was threatening in tone. The X handle BlastingTamilCinema, claiming to be a fan of Thalapathy Vijay, wrote, "CBFC kitta Certificate vangurathu perusu illa ..Anna fans kitta Sorry keetu, Apology Certificate vaangu... Innum 1 week iruku, avanga manichu vitta #Parasakthi oodum" (It is not a big deal to get a CBFC certificate. Apologise to fans of Anna – Vijay – and get that apology certificate. There is one more week. They will forgive you. Parasakthi will run (sic)).

Dev Ramnath on Parasakthi slander

Earlier, the film’s creative producer and actor Dev Ramnath also called out an intentional defamation campaign against the film through a post on X. On Monday, Dev Ramnath took to his X handle and criticised certain netizens for attempting to sabotage Parasakthi. He claimed that negative reviews were being circulated, outdated videos were being used to influence audience opinion, and there were deliberate attempts to lower the film’s ratings on ticketing platforms. He also shared screenshots to support his claims.

He wrote, "Just because we're releasing alongside your film doesn't give you the right to sabotage ours. We announced our release date first. Did we try to stop your film? Never." He added, "I was at the CBFC office every single day, in Chennai and Mumbai, to overcome hurdles. We were dealing with our censor issues just the way your team was. We got ours less than 18 hours before the release."

"Negative reviews, using old videos, influencing people, shouting political slogans in theatres, messing with BMS ratings. This isn't competition. You did the same to a big film last year," he further wrote.

Concluding his statement, he said, "Talking as a cinema lover, this isn't healthy for any of us. Parasakthi is about a student movement that we Tamils should be proud of. We will fight this, just the way our students did."

Dev also shared screenshots of X accounts which spoke ill of Parasakthi. Almost all the accounts had Thalapathy Vijay’s face as their display picture. While it was assumed that he was referring to Vijay fans, Ramnath clarified in an interview with IANS that he had been misrepresented.

He said, "A lot of people have misrepresented me saying that I have spoken against Vijay sir's fans. It's a complete misrepresentation. I am nobody to be warning Vijay sir's fans. Vijay sir is a stalwart. I have grown up watching his films. I am a nobody. My only request, as someone who's come from a complete non-industry, non-political background, is that this film gets its due. We have put in the hard yards for the last 10 years to come to this and to do this film. And over the last six to 18 months, we've put our hearts and souls into it. The same goes for 'Jana Nayagan'. There are hundreds of people who have worked on 'Jana Nayagan'. When this happens to a film, it's difficult for everyone who has worked on it."

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