Filmmaker Pa. Ranjith, celebrated for his bold cinematic critiques of caste oppression and his vocal advocacy for social justice, now faces mounting criticism for his refusal to address decades-old allegations of sexual predatory behavior against writer-actor Shobasakthi.
Context: An ad hoc feminist collective comprising over 100 women activists, artists, writers, and scholars from India, Sri Lanka, Canada, Europe, and beyond has issued a strong condemnation statement against Tamil writer and actor Shobasakthi, accusing him of systemic sexual exploitation, manipulation, and abuse of power.
The statement, released on April 13, 2025, details testimonies from multiple survivors primarily women and queer individuals who allege that Shobasakthi leveraged his reputation as a progressive, Periyarist Marxist intellectual to groom and exploit them professionally and personally. The statement outlines a pattern of abusive behaviour spanning decades.
The feminist collective’s condemnation, released on April 13, accuses Shobasakthi of leveraging his stature as a “progressive” intellectual to manipulate and abuse women and queer individuals over 20 years, including allegations of transphobic exploitation tied to his film Roobha.
Yet Ranjith, whose films like Kaala and Sarpatta Parambarai centred around marginalized voices, has remained strangely silent. This dissonance is amplified by Shobasakthi’s collaborations with Neelam, a collective that positions itself as a vanguard of anti-caste and feminist art. Ranjith’s reluctance to act or even acknowledge the allegations, undermines his credibility and exposes his hypocrisy, and the refusal to confront abuse within his own circles.
For many, this silence echoes a familiar pattern of male allies prioritizing solidarity with powerful men over accountability for survivors. Neelam’s continued association with Shobasakthi risks reducing its social justice rhetoric to performative activism, particularly as survivors emphasize that his misconduct has been an open secret in Tamil literary and political networks for years.
How can Ranjith claim to dismantle oppression while enabling an alleged predator? His silence isn’t neutrality, it’s complicity.
The controversy now places Ranjith at crossroads. Will he address the allegations head-on, aligning his actions with the transformative ideals he espouses on screen? Or will his legacy become tarnished by the same patriarchal hypocrisy he critiques in his art? Until he breaks his silence, the question lingers: Is Pa. Ranjith a true ally to marginalized communities, or merely another man clinging to the privilege of selective outrage?
-@mrpaluvets
27/04/2025
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