Physical Address

304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124

Udhayanidhi Stalin’s remarks on North vs South films spark BJP counterattack

Actor-turned-politician and Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin has stirred another controversy by comparing the film industries in southern and northern India. Speaking at a literature festival in Kozhikode on Saturday, he claimed that apart from Bollywood, no northern state has a film industry as thriving as those in South India.
“The Tamil film industry now generates billions in revenue. Kerala, Telugu, and Kannada cinema are also thriving. But does any language in North India have an industry as vibrant as ours? The answer is a big no,” Udhayanidhi said.
He added that Bollywood has largely overshadowed smaller film industries in northern states. “Mumbai extensively produces Hindi films now, with Marathi, Bhojpuri, Bihari, Haryanvi, and Gujarati cinema receiving far less attention. Many northern states don’t even have their own film industry,” he noted.
Reflecting on the 1950s, Udhayanidhi explained that Tamil cinema was then heavily Sanskritised and mainly accessible to the “upper caste” and affluent audiences. He credited the Dravidian movement with making cinema more inclusive, enabling people from all backgrounds to enjoy films.
Tamil Nadu BJP Vice-President N Thirupathy hit out at Udhayanidhi Stalin, calling him a “failed actor” and “failed film personality”.
“He (Udhayanidhi) doesn’t know. His immaturity and lack of knowledge, he speaks like that. In the name of language, these people are trying to divide the country. From Tamil films, Red Giant Films (Udhyaanidhi Stalin’s production company) are taking Hindi versions also and making huge money. To make money, they want Hindi and to be in power, they don’t want people to learn Hindi,” said Thirupathy.

en_USEnglish