Should ‘Vikram’ be banned?
I WILL start with a disclaimer that this is not a review, but rather a rejection of Kamal Haasan’s film Vikram, as the movie glorifies cold-blooded killings.
I decided to watch the movie following the hype and from the reviews, one would think it would be a worthwhile three hours spent at the cinema.
An evocative movie such as Vikram, with megastars in the lineup, makes it impactful and it will be taken as a representation of life and reality.
Just because Kamal takes to correcting misdeeds in the community by slaughtering people, this does not make it right. Two wrongs do not make a right, but rational thinking has no place in a movie like this.
It is a tad sensitive and may be unpopular, but Vikram is a movie that will scar a society that is already bleeding.
If the bottomline is the producers’ only concern, then our censorship board should have perhaps banned the movie.
Vikram cannot be censored in parts as the entire movie portrays gun violence, lawlessness, brutal killings, in the community by slaughtering people and fights that give viewers a trance-like feeling.
It is no secret that action films usually end up as box office hits and are deemed as being in demand.
Hence, it makes sense for filmmakers to make movies that will sell and the tendency to make such films has increased.
Following the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a deluge of action movies with weighty violence that have not been shunned in terms of popularity, but how do we evaluate and strike a balance between profits and social obligation.
On this topic, increasingly, there have been defensive statements by filmmakers such as, “It’s only entertainment. It does not influence anybody”, “We just reflect reality. Don’t blame us; blame society”, and “We give the public what it wants. If people don’t like it they can always turn it off”.
If the message is to sacrifice some people to save the world from the effects of drugs that would proliferate and destroy millions, the end does not justify the means.
BHAVANI KRISHNA IYER Kuala Lumpur