Filmmaker Sudha Kongara has revealed about the journey of her latest film. Parashakti. He elaborated on the hurdles he faced with the censor board, reactions on social media and his approach to sensitive political topics.

In an exclusive interview with India Today, Kongara explains how he faced censorship without compromising his creative vision. The director also addressed online harassment and shared his views on the ongoing debate over language politics in India.

Question: Your film parashakti It was taken for a second round of scrutiny by the Censor Board. How did you make the cuts while making sure your vision wasn’t diminished?

A: I have never gone to a review committee in my life. For a creator, any short cut can be cruel, but we have to be practical too. I have bargained with the censor board during this time Surai Potru Too. The censor board members were really democratic towards my film. He said that my film had radical elements, but I had to cut some audio. My ultimate goal was to bring it to the people. The cuts in the film are not too bad. It did not interfere with the telling of the story parashakti.

Why: Jan NayganA film which was supposed to have the same release date as your film Parashakti, got stuck in censor problems. Do you see Parashakti as a competition?

A: I love Vijay. I’m his biggest, biggest fan. Vijay is aware of this. I have told him this. We were supposed to do a film together, but due to various reasons it didn’t happen. He is an actor I love. I watch my movie 2000 times, but I will always watch Vijay’s movie FDFS. what happened with Jan Naygan – The Censor Board stopped the film just two days before its release – this should not happen with any film. How do you compete with the biggest star in the country? You can’t! I still have a lot of respect for him as an actor.

Q: You faced intense online harassment and threats on social media. How do you overcome such terrible threats? Does it reach you?

A: The beautiful thing about my life is that I am not on social media. My colleagues post on my behalf. The attacks on me were from a person on Twitter. I will read the tweets. This blasting is from this handle named Tamil Pictures. The quote reads: “Getting a CBFC certificate is not a big deal. Apologize to the fans of Anna – Vijay – and get the apology certificate. There is another week. They will forgive you. parashakti Will do (sic).”

I felt really abused. I don’t think this is from Vijay fans but from some other sections. They don’t seem to be fans. I have apologized to his fans. I am sure this hate message is not from the fans. What the media raised is that Sudha is calling everyone a goon. I’m not ruining anyone. This is an easy place to criticize you because you are anonymous on social media. It’s a spineless thing to do.

I have received very obscene messages targeting me. I do not want to be exposed to these messages. It somehow reaches my ears, and it’s not good. There is a saying: “If you can’t kill a woman’s dreams, kill her character.” Terrible hate speech, and it’s horrible. I am a firm believer in freedom of expression. They defamed me, defamed me. They are beating me because my film has been released.

Q. How do you differentiate yourself from the political branding associated with the film, given its roots in Dravidian ideology and its association with a political party?

A: parashakti This is not a propaganda film, but a balanced film. Periyar is not in the film. I started the film with Nehru’s promise and traveled till Hindi was made the official language. This was from the perspective of the student movement. Students were linked to Dravidian ideology. I maintained that balance. There are no political parties in my film. I am balanced and I have worked very hard for this.

Question: On imposing opposition to Hindi. Is this still happening in South India?

A: Imposing anything (language or law) is non-democratic. My kids don’t want to be asked where they’re going or who they’re going with. I know a lot of languages ​​because it comes easily to me. Not everyone can learn multiple languages. Language is everything. This can make you feel inferior. It can make you feel as if you don’t belong to him. You cannot impose on me a foreign language that I have no desire to learn. If I have to go to another state where I have to learn a language, I am ready for it. Sitting in my kingdom, you ask me to learn a language that is foreign to me – it is not possible.