Vijay Sethupathi Speaks On His Film On Farmers’ Rights

Vijay Sethupathi Speaks To Subhash  K Jha On His Film On  Farmers’ Rights.

Why  did you do a shabby  film like  Labaam?

Because I believed in the subject . Sir,with due respects to your opinion,  I must say, not every film is done for  artistic satisfaction. I agree cinema  should be aesthetic, and cinematic . But it needs  to be  a lot more.  I  don’t think cinema is only for mass entertainment, though I  do films  that are  for entertainment  only. But I also do films that are informative. I  don’t believe cinema is  for timepass.It  is and it must be  an  important tool for  reformation. Laabam , I did  for this reason.

 You mean  you did the  film to spread the  message on farmers’ rights?

You  must understand that  the Britishers  exploited Indians for  300 years. Why were they able to do that? Because they believed in divide-and-rule. While the rich have always remained one  community, the  poor are  divided     on the basis of   cast, colour, economic  status, etc etc. The farmers have  always been an exploited community. During British Raj they produced sugarcane which was used  by the Britishers to make molasses, sugar and paper. Sugarcane  was used  to  create every possible profit. What did  farmers  get? Almost nothing. The exploitation  of farmers continues. Laabam is important  given the  historical context of farmers’ agitation.

So  you did the film  for  its message?

Yes. I  am  not saying that all films should have a  message. But I  think it is important for cinema  to  send  out the right  signals to the audience.

What  are you working on  now?

I have to finish Raj and DK’s webseries for Amazon. Shahid Kapoor and I  are  not  fighting about  our roles.We are  working peacefully.So no controversy there. After  this, I start  Sriram Raghavan’s film with Katrina  Kaif in December. Then  I have Kamal Sir(Haasan)’s film to complete.