The toll in the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy in Tamil Nadu rose to nearly 55 today. Even hours after the tragedy, there are no verbal criticisms or even tokenistic outrage from Kollywood star heroes, who are otherwise ever-so-ready to make social-message movies.
The one obvious reason for their silence is that they fear the DMK dispensation. In Tamil Nadu, the ruling party holds a sway over the Tamil film industry. It has built a strong ecosystem that can force artists to toe its line at will. No star hero and star director, no producer and no music director, dares to antagonize any DMK leader. Even the AIADMK is guilty of this but DMK is said to be more aggressive in ensuring that its writ runs large.
This is similar to how the entire Bollywood has toed the Thackerays' line for decades. Bollywood actors used to be critical of the Devendra Fadnavis government but started toing the MVA line after Uddhav Thackeray became the CM in 2019.
Tamil superstar and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam president yesterday Vijay paid a visit to the victims of the recent hooch tragedy in Kallakurichi Government Medical College. He is yet to come down heavily on the systemic rot that enables such tragedies.
In a way, the Tamil film industry is also guilty of romanticizing liquor consumption.
