Vetrimaaran shuts down his production house due to too much ‘pressure’; announces Bad Girl will be its last

Vetrimaaran's Grass Root Film Company will be shut down after the release of the controversial film Bad Girl. Here's why.

Tamil filmmaker Vetrimaaran announced on Monday that he is shutting down his production house, Grass Root Film Company, which he founded in 2012. He also stated that the controversial coming-of-age film Bad Girl will be the last film made under his production house. Claiming that it was too much ‘pressure’ to be a producer, here’s what Vetrimaaran said.

Bad Girl is a Tamil coming-of-age film produced by Vetrimaaran that ran into controversy over its portrayal of the titular character.

Vetrimaaran says Bad Girl to be his last film as producer

Ahead of the release of Bad Girl, Vetrimaaran spoke to the press in Chennai on Monday. He got candid about the struggles he faced with his two latest films, Manushi and Bad Girl.

He stated that being a producer is ‘taxing’ while being just a director allows him more freedom creatively. “Being a producer is a taxing job. Being a director is a creative job. There's no pressure in that job; we should just do our work. But, if you are a producer, you should be aware of everything, including the comments under a teaser,” said Vetrimaaran.

The filmmaker also stated that the statements made by cast and crew often affect a film’s business. “As a producer, that becomes huge pressure. Director Mysskin and I were discussing this a few days ago. There are a lot of things involved in this,” he said, adding, “To be a producer is extremely challenging. People like me borrow money to produce a film. So, Bad Girl will be our last production venture at Grass Roots. We're closing doors,” said Vetrimaaran.

Issues faced by Manushi, Bad Girl

Vetrimaaran’s recent films, Manushi and Bad Girl, were criticised by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). In June this year, the filmmaker moved the Madras High Court, which questioned the CBFC as to why Manushi, starring Andrea Jeremiah and directed by N Gopi Nainar, was denied a censor certificate. On 30 August, Vetrimaaran was to make 25 cuts and 12 modifications before the film could be released.

Bad Girl, starring Anjali Sivaraman and directed by Varsha Bharat, ran into similar trouble after its teaser was released. It was criticised for portraying Brahmins in a bad light. “After watching the teaser, we saw some hypersensitive comments and assumptions being made. But the movie wasn't like that. The CBFC gave it a U/A. Manushi, my previous film, went to one censor screening and two revising committee screenings,” he said of the ordeal.

Bad Girl, which is co-presented by Anurag Kashyap, is now releasing in theatres on 5 September.