Jyothika asks Tamil directors to be 'socially responsible'

After the success of her comeback film, 36 Vayadhinile (2015), actress Jyothika is all set for the release of her next, Magalir Mattum. Directed by Bramma, the film stars a team of capable female actresses like Banupriya, Oorvasi, and Saranya Ponvannan.

On Monday, speaking at the audio launch of her upcoming film, Jyothika began on a lighter note: "I play Prabhavati, a documentary filmmaker, in this film. Unknowingly, director Bramma seems to have picked the right artiste to play this role. I say this because in these 10 years of marriage with Suriya, I have made one dosa for my husband. I didn't do it deliberately, but what came out was something between a chapati and a dosa. But thank you Suriya for eating that dosa. His mom knows. I made that dosa for him the next day after marriage and then mom said, 'Don't want'. Now, even if I say I'll make coffee, he calls the cooks to make coffee."

The actress thanked the film's director saying, "I think Bramma is the first director in the Tamil film industry to give a heroine a role that is much younger in age. Thank you Bramma for this new image. Everybody who came to narrate scripts to me gave me roles of the mother of children who are 12, 14. Thank you Bramma for giving me back my youth.

"When Bramma came and met me with the script, he told me, 'Jo, you will have to look different. You will have to look unmarried and ride a bike for this role.' At that moment itself I made up my mind to do this film unmindful of what was in that script. That is because I realized that this director is going to be amazing. He looks at women in a very different way."

Jyothika then chose to send out a message to all directors. "Being a woman, I think I need to give a message on women," she said. "This is a message to all the directors. This is a message mainly to the directors of all the big hero films. This is a message for all of them. Please give women in your films some dignity. Let the female characters in your films be like how the women in your home are. Give female characters like your mother, sister, friends, girlfriends — women who surround you in real life."

Explaining her statement, she continued, "Heroes have crores of fans. They copy what the heroes do. We are socially responsible for what is happening to women all over India. I think cinema has a big impact on youth. Physically, I know you won't give them dresses like how the women in your homes dress. But at least give them mentally intelligent characters. Don't make them stand next to comedians and have double-meaning dialogues. Don't have pathetic introduction scenes, don't have the heroine going behind the hero, saying, 'I love you'. Please stop all of this because it has an influence on the youth. If you have four heroines in a film for a hero, then youths will think it is okay to have four girlfriends. So, one heroine is enough for a hero. Please let's make good films and be socially responsible."

Magalir Mattum is produced by Suriya's 2D Entertainment and directed by Kuttram Kadithal (2015) director Bramma.