Makers of Mark Antony face backlash for allegedly objectifying reimagined Silk Smitha

Vishal and SJ Suryah's Mark Antony is all set to release on September 15. Directed by Adhik Ravichandran, the trailer, unveiled a few days ago, promised a wacky ride comprising elements of time travel and gangster drama.

The trailer featured a CGI-generated image of late actor Silk Smitha, and netizens expressed their disappointment over what they claimed to be the objectification of the yesteryear actor. However, many defended director Adhik and asked the dissenters to wait for the release before passing judgments. 

However, the debate has resurfaced following the release of the censor board-mandated cuts in Mark Antony. People opposing the decision to reimagine Smitha pointed out the list of cuts, which includes a double entendre with a sexual undertone directed towards the actor. Similarly, seemingly transphobic lines have also been muted. Netizens were up in arms against the misuse of the late actor, and pointed out how women cannot escape being objectified even when they are dead. Pertinent points about the usage of Artificial intelligence, and the need for newer laws to curb the rampant misuse of the technology were also made by discerning voices. While we are still in the dark as to how Adhik has actually portrayed the character, it is upto the filmmaker to decide if he wants to take on these accusations right now, or actually wait for the film's release to let Mark Antony do the talking. But we can only hope the doubts are unfounded, but the silence of the makers continue to cast a dark cloud over the representation of the late actor.

Late actor Silk Smitha mainly worked in Tamil and Telugu cinema and was a part of several successful dance numbers. She began her career with the film Edutha Sabantham Mudipen (1979) and went on to act in Vandichakkaram (1980), Vayal (1981), Moondram Pirai (1982), Paayum Puli (1983),  Moondru Mugham (1982), Roshagadu (1983), Kaithi Rani (1986), Badla Aurat Ka (1987) Avasara Police 100 (1990) and many more. Her final role was in the Hindi film Haiwan (1998) which was released posthumously. Throughout her career, Smitha starred in over 500 films. She passed away in 1996.

Meanwhile, Mark Antony has cleared censor formalities and has been given a U/A certificate. The film has a runtime of just over 150 minutes.

The technical crew of Mark Antony comprises music composer GV Prakash Kumar, cinematographer Abhinandan Ramanujam and editor Vijay Velukutty. The film will be released in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.