Tamil filmmaker Karthik Subbaraj strongly condemned fellow filmmaker Mohan G's views on the trans community in a recent social media post. Addressing viewers in a video, the filmmaker thanked audiences for their love for his latest Tamil film, Dorothy, before drawing attention to the vitriolic commentary targeting trans women. This largely included Tamil director Mohan G's transphobic remarks about the community in a recently televised debate.
The director began the video by addressing the general hate the film has been fielding since its release. Among various themes, Dorothy (spoiler alert) revolves around the transition of a man. "My team showed me a video of Mohan G discussing the film and the trans community with a trans woman, Neha. He criticised the film, which I don't want to address. But he kept asking Neha akka (sister) what trans people will achieve by getting married," he said.
When someone is able to pass such comments in such an open forum, I look at it as a form of hatred and violence against trans women, the filmmaker added. "I strongly condemn Mohan's comments. I don't care what he thinks about the film, but these comments cannot go unnoticed." Addressing Mohan's transphobic comments on a trans woman's inability to bear children, the filmmaker questioned whether children were the ultimate aim of a family. "Is this the ultimate motive of a couple? It is a harsh, transphobic statement. Just like how we outrage over caste and religious comments, this should be considered a form of violence."
Subbaraj added that the point of the video was to make sure no one enables such people. "Please don't do it," he added.
Mohan, who is known for Tamil dramas such as Draupathi and Bakasuran, has earlier been criticised for his regressive depiction of caste pride in films. Subbaraj's latest film, Dorothy, co-starring Rishikanth and Sananth, traces the lives of two men, which torpedoes as they are forced to navigate distressing caste and gender realities in rural Tamil Nadu of the 80s.