Pathu Thala: Vetri Maaran, Vijay Sethupathi, Priya Bhavani Shankar call out discrimination at Rohini Theatre

The theatre refused entry to a family from a marginalised community for Pathu Thala screening

Vetri Maaran, Vijay Sethupathi, Priya Bhavani Shankar

Silambarasan's latest action entertainer Pathu Thala released amid much fanfare across the world on March 30. As fans revelled in the gangster drama, an incident at Rohini theatre in Koyambedu, Chennai left many aghast. A family belonging to the Narikuravar community was denied entry into the movie hall yesterday despite them having valid tickets for the show. The video of the ticket checking staff refusing entry to the family went viral on social media. In the video, another movie goer is heard questioning the staff about refusing permission.

Also Read: Pathu Thala: Chennai theatre courts controversy after it denies entry to some people, GV Prakash says 'art belongs to everyone'

While GV Prakash was one of the first to speak on the issue stating that art belonged to everyone, later Kamal Haasan, too, called out the discrimination against the members of the marginalised community. The Indian 2 actor wrote in Tamil, which roughly translates to, "Members of the marginalised community are denied entry into the theater despite having tickets. They were allowed only after protests on social media. This is reprehensible (sic)."

Taking to her social media handle, the leading lady of Pathu Thala wrote, "When everyone else was going about their work, the voice that questioned the ticket checking staff asking why the family was denied entry, was the first voice against this kind of action. If their attire is the problem for the theater executives, then civilization they need to know and achieve, is far away (sic)."

When Vijay Sethupathi was questioned about the incident at a recent event, he said, "This kind of discrimination is unacceptable. The earth was created for all to live together. We must stand up against those who oppress another human being.”

Also Read: Pathu Thala: Kamal Haasan lashes out at the Chennai theatre which denied entry to a tribal community Viduthalai director Vetri Maaran called it a dangerous trend. His tweet in Tamil translates to, "100 years ago, theatres stopped practicing untouchability. It is a dangerous trend not allowing the working class people inside a movie hall. Even though they were allowed inside the theatre later, it is strongly condemnable that such an incident happened in the first place."

Chinmayi called the incident horrible, and wrote, "Reallllly horrible that people who wanted to watch a film in a theatre weren’t allowed. I have seen enough movies where people brought infants and months old babies into the theatres and it’s not just at Rohini. Horrible and disrespectful (sic)."

The management had come up with a statement, which read, "A few individuals along with their children have sought entry to the cinema to watch 'Pathu Thala' movie. As we know, the movie is censored U/A by the authorities. Children below the age of can not be permitted to watch any movie that is certified U/A as per the law. Our ticket checking staff has denied entry on this basis to the family who had come with children aged 2,6,8 and 10." However, the explanation only seemed to disappoint netizens further and the hashtag Boycott Rohini Theatre began trending on social media.

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