Dorothy, which explores transgender identity and the discrimination faced by transgender people, has been at the centre of a debate since its theatrical release. While the film's director, Karthik Subbaraj, has maintained that audiences should watch the film before judging its intentions, the response has extended beyond its narrative and performances to wider questions about queer representation in Tamil cinema.

Karthik has now strongly condemned fellow filmmaker Mohan G over remarks made to transgender woman Negha during a televised debate about the film. In a video statement shared on X on Tuesday, the Dorothy director described the exchange as transphobic and a form of psychological violence. “It's not even a question; it's an insult,” he said, arguing that repeatedly questioning a transgender woman's prospects for marriage and parenthood amounted to public humiliation rather than a genuine discussion.

According to Karthik, Negha had explained that a man and a transgender woman could share a happy married life, offering each other companionship and support. However, Mohan G objected to the discussion, repeatedly returning to whether such a couple could have children. Questioning the assumption that parenthood was the ultimate purpose of a relationship, he asked, “Is it the ultimate motive of humans?” He also pointed out that many couples who cannot have children lead fulfilling lives, questioning why transgender people should be judged by a different standard.

The filmmaker clarified that his objection was not to criticism of Dorothy. “You can talk anything about the movie. I don't even care. But there should be humanity,” he said, adding that people should be free to express opinions about a film without demeaning someone on the basis of gender identity. Comparing gender-based discrimination with prejudice based on caste and religion, Subbaraj also called for rules to address such comments in public forums.

“Because the person sitting opposite you is a human being. Look at her as a human being,” he said, adding that nobody had the right to insult another person publicly. He urged people not to normalise such exchanges, expressing dismay that discriminatory remarks could be made openly without consequences.

Negha subsequently thanked Karthik Subbaraj for speaking out. In a social media response, she described his support as significant for her and the transgender community, saying that she had rarely experienced such public solidarity. Her response underlined how the debate had moved beyond a disagreement over a film to a question of whether transgender people could participate in public conversations without having their identities and relationships treated as subjects of ridicule.

This is not the first time Dorothy has drawn controversy over its treatment of gender identity. Following the film's September 25 release, sections of social media criticised a dialogue in which a transgender character says that society's perception of transgender people could change over the next decade. Some users called for a boycott, while others argued that the line had been taken out of context. Subbaraj had previously dismissed the online backlash as the views of a small section of people, saying that the response he encountered among theatre audiences was markedly different.

Mohan G, known for films including Draupathi and Bakasuran, had also drawn criticism in September after claiming on social media that LGBTQ+ representation in Tamil cinema was funded by NGOs to erode traditional culture. The remarks prompted a wider debate about queer representation in films and the place of transgender narratives in mainstream Tamil cinema.