South Connect: Were Cholas Not Hindus?? Director Vetri Maaran’s Comment Sparks Debate

Tamil film director Vetrimaaran has sparked a controversy by speaking about Emperor Raja Raja Cholan’s religious identity. According to the director, the famed ruler was not a Hindu Emperor.Vetrimaaran’s comments have come just days after the release of filmmaker Mani Ratnam’s magnum opus Ponniyin Selvan: Part One, which is based on Kalki’s fictional Tamil novel inspired by the Tamil emperor Raja Raja Cholan (since there is no English equivalent of the letter ‘zha,’ Chozhan is mostly written as ‘Cholan’).“When the Dravidian movement took over Tamil cinema, there were arguments about doing art for art’s sake and not for the masses. They talked a lot about aesthetics. Yes, that’s also important but no art is complete if it doesn’t touch the lives of people. Art should reflect people’s lives,” he said. Vetrimaaran’s fiery speech has left the internet divided

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