You Tamilians are breaking this country: Vetrimaaran shares humiliating experience at Delhi airport for not knowing Hindi

The filmmaker has shared a discomfiting experience he faced at the Delhi airport for not knowing Hindi
You Tamilians are breaking this country: Vetrimaaran shares humiliating experience at Delhi airport for not knowing Hindi

DMK Lok Sabha MP Kanimozhi had recently tweeted about an unpleasant experience she faced at the Chennai airport where a CISF personnel had asked her if she was Indian after she said she did not know Hindi.

Now, Kollywood filmmaker Vetrimaaran has shared a similar humiliating experience at the Delhi airport in 2011.

During an interview with a magazine, he said, "We were returning to India after the screening of Aadukalam in August 2011 at the Montreal Film Festival in Canada. An immigration official at Delhi airport spoke to me in Hindi and when I said that I didn't know Hindi, the officer questioned how come I don't know the 'mother language of the country'. I told him that Tamil is my mother tongue and when I want to communicate with others I use English."

After hearing out Vetrimaaran's explanation the Delhi airport official became very angry and said, "You people are like this...You Tamils, Kashmiris are only breaking this country."

Even after Aadukalam producer Kathiresan and music composer GV Prakash intervened and told the official that Vetrimaaran was a National Award winner, the filmmaker was made to stand for 45 minutes.

"How can speaking my mother tongue disrupt the unity of the nation? How will my mother tongue hinder the development of the country?" questioned Vetrimaaran.

Director Vetrimaaran, who is celebrating his birthday today, is one of the most versatile directors in the country. Having worked as an assistant under legendary director Balu Mahendra for close to a decade, Vetrimaaran made his directorial debut with the sleeper-hit Polladhavan in 2007.

His 2011 blockbuster Aadukalam went on to win six National Awards, including the Best Director, Best Actor and Best Screenplay.

Vetrimaaran's 2016 film Visaranai also won three National Awards and was selected as India's official entry at the 89th Academy Awards for the Best Foreign Language Film.

His recent film Asuran was considered one of the best films of 2019. 

Vetrimaaran has recently joined hands with Suriya for his next venture, Vaadivasal.

Related Stories

No stories found.
Cinema Express
www.cinemaexpress.com