Udhayanidhi Starrer Maamannan Story Is Fictional, But Viewers Find It Linked To This Politician

On the controversy of whether it was the story of an AIADMK politician, Maamanan's director Mari Selvaraj said that it was up to the audience to decide. 

The Tamil Nadu Assembly is ready to make history. A siren from a government vehicle indicates the arrival of a prominent leader to the Secretariat to occupy his ‘rightful chair’. These are the opening scenes of the movie ‘Maamannan’, directed by ace filmmaker Mari Selvaraj, which go on to tell the journey of Maamannan (Vadivelu), a political leader from an oppressed community who is set to take the chair of Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker.

‘Maamannan’, released last Thursday, is a Tamil film starring Udhayanidhi Stalin, Vadivelu, Fahad Faasil and Keerthy Suresh. The movie already set a record by collecting over Rs 50 crore in nine days, as per the producer of the film, Udhayanidhi Stalin, who declared it during the ‘Maamannan’ success meet.

Udhayanidhi is a well known politician in Tamil Nadu. The son of CM Stalin and grandson of DMK patriarch Karunanidhi is the Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development and also holds the post of DMK youth wing secretary.  

As a result, initially, the movie was dubbed as a 'propaganda' film of DMK, as it was produced by a DMK leader who also acted in it. The movie also had inferences about the DMK party since Maamannan (Vadivelu) was portrayed as a member of a party upholding 'social justice', which is one of the mottos of DMK.

Defying popular opinion at the time of release, the film by Maari Selvaraj, the director known for his critically acclaimed works 'Pariyerum Perumal' and 'Karnan', instead threw light on the caste prejudice meted out against Dalit leaders within Tamil Nadu's political space and the parties.

'Maamannan' Plot

According to the plot, Maamannan (Vadivelu), a Dalit, starts as a party worker in Salem’s Kasipuram. Athiveeran (Udhayanidhi), his son, is initially close to his father. The situation changes, though, when caste members from the dominating group attack Athiveeran and his friends. As Maamannan follows the party order rather than advocating for justice, Athiveeran begins to distance himself from his father. In the meantime, Maamannan becomes an MLA. Their relationship takes a different shape as the movie progresses since they have no other option but to get together to face a battle.

On the other hand, Rathnavelu (Fahad Fassil) is a power-hungry cruel man from a dominant caste, who is also a district secretary in the same party. The father-son duo is forced to oppose Rathnavel as he disrespects Maamannan. The intermission happens at this point, and with this backdrop, the story thereafter delves into the internal clashes between groups within the party and how Maamannan fights back to establish his rightful position.

With his finesse, Mari Selvaraj yet again delivered a movie questioning the deep-rooted caste, class and other forms of injustice practised against the oppressed.

Politics & More

‘Maamannan' dwells on the oppression faced by legislators of reserve constituencies in Tamil Nadu. The movie highlights how these leaders and other members face discrimination from their own party colleagues.

'Maamannan' also throws light on the ways Dalit leaders are used as a 'tool' by the wealthy dominant caste politicians to remain as the ultimate ascendants without even facing the elections. 

Indirectly, the movie doesn't fail to critique the Dravidian parties who have ruled the state for over half a century. It addresses the shortcomings of how parties despite claiming to vouch for social justice failed to eliminate the deep-rooted caste oppression and discriminations within.

Though the movie ‘Maamanan’ stands by itself for touching on topics never debated in Kollywood mainstream cinema, many movie viewers especially from AIADMK drew similarities of the story with the "Real Maamannan", Dhanapal, who held the chair of Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker for two consecutive terms.

Story of ‘Real’ Maamannan 

Politics has been usually unfair to the oppressed who don't get a level-playing field. The story of former Speaker Dhanapal is no different. He had joined the AIADMK as a primary member when late actor-turned-politician MG Ramachandran formed it in 1972. Later, Dhanapal emerged as a leader most trusted by the late AIADMK supremo, Jayalalithaa. 

Yet, it was not easy for Dhanapal, who is from Scheduled Caste Adi Dravidar community, to climb up the party ladder to become a seven-time legislator and first Dalit Speaker of Tamil Nadu Assembly. 

Dhanapal got his first recognition when he was handpicked as the minister for food and cooperation by Jayalalithaa in 2001. As reported by media in the past, Dhanapal was not the first choice for the post, but a visit to the then CM's house on her demand changed his stature. 

According to reports, Dhanapal received a phone call from Jayalalithaa in the early 2000s telling him to visit her at her home. When he met Jayalalithaa, she reportedly asked him why he never fed party workers who came along with him for party activities. Dhanapal had reportedly said he would order food for all the workers but no one was ready to eat the food provided by him and hence they had to throw away the food twice. It was reported that his response had shocked Jayalalithaa, and that led her to announce Dhanapal as the food minister so he could feed the entire Tamil Nadu.

Dhanapal contested as AIADMK candidate from Sankagiri constituency in the 1977, 1980, 1984 and 2001 elections. He contested and won from Rasipuram and Avanashi constituencies in 2011 and 2016, respectively. It was after his win from Rasipuram that he was made the first Dalit Speaker of Tamil Nadu Assembly. The movie draws the same reference with Rasipuram referred to as Kasipuram. 

Udhayanidhi & Mari Selvaraj Response

Mari Selvaraj has neither confirmed nor denied if Maamannan is the story of Dhanapal, saying it is up to the audience to decide. 

Speaking to the media, Dhanapal said he had not watched the entire movie but could say that some parts replicated his life event but other parts seemed to be fictional. AIADMK general secretary Edappadi Palaniswami said: “I did not see the movie. How can I see an Udhayanidhi film? If some other actor had starred in the movie, I would have seen and responded. Our organisations are different.” 

Filmmaker Pa Ranjith's comment about ‘Maamannan’ also created quite a stir. "Actor, producer and minister Udhayanidhi’s work is highly commendable. You (Udhayanidhi) should be aware of caste discrimination which is a major challenge in DMK and hope you will start the work to eradicate it through this film," he said on Twitter.

Udhayanidhi Stalin said, “We all know that a single film cannot bring about a revolution in society. In the path paved by Periyar-Ambedkar this change can be brought through constant interaction with people. Let's all travel together on the journey.”