Prashanth Kumar is a lesser known director and producer in Tollywood who made the film Mithai in 2019. But he is now popular with his sensible open letter to the Bahubalian director SS Rajamouli.
It is known that Rajamouli has been facing several online trolls for letting out his opinion on the Oscar winning film Parasite. He said that he slept off watching the film as it couldn’t pull his interest.
In this connection Prashant Kumar has written an open letter to him which is already circulating in social media. Here it is:
“Dear S.S Rajmauli,
I read recently about how boring you found Parasite. Fair enough. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. As a fellow film maker, I found this comment disrespectful, and distasteful. More than that, I found that it defies logic.
Parasite is a film that created history, by sweeping the Oscars as a foreign language entry, a category that your films also come under. It’s a film that has been acclaimed by masters of the craft like Scorcese and Tarantino. Last I heard, I don’t think they had anything to say about Bahubali.
More than anything, Parasite is an original piece of work. Originality deserves respect, especially when it is powerful enough to cut across language barriers, and Parasite has done that more effectively than any foreign language film in history. It’s the beauty of cinema, and a testament to its power, when it can strike a chord even across languages, cultures and preferences.
Speaking about originality, I have come across many instances in your films, like Sye for example, when you have lifted entire scenes from other films, without as much as an acknowledgement. I didn’t hear fellow film makers come out in public and talk about it, although it was impossible to miss that you ‘stole’ it? It’s because of a mutual respect.
I understand that watching a film requires a certain mood and mindspace. Perhaps you were not in the mood for something as layered as Parasite. But to hear you use a public platform to dismiss a film that the entire film world has acknowledged, shows badly on you. As a representative of the Indian film industry, it’s fair to say that you have embarrassed us.
Personally, I don’t think your films come anywhere close to being judged on a world stage. And therefore, I don’t think we have the right to judge something that the cinema world has collectively honoured, especially on a public platform.
But of course, everybody is entitled to their opinion. All the best”.
Now, we need to see if Rajamouli runs for a cover or still firmly stands on his opinion.
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