Jailer to Bhola Shankar: Violence Seeping Into Star-studded Action Movies

In the name of heroism, superstars are indulging in extreme bloodshed and violence. For instance, superstar Rajinikanth beheads a thug in “Jailer’ for making comments against his daughter-in-law, while megastar Chiranjeevi does a similar act in “Bhola Shankar’ during a deadly fight on a cruise before the interval. Followed by lover boy-turned-action hero Dulquer Salmaan who pierces a knife into a thug’s heart and tells him that he is performing cardiac surgery without any remorse. “These are truly inhuman acts and we shouldn’t encourage extreme violence in movies,” says director Teja, who claims that Rajnikanth has never done such gore acts in his four-decades-old career.

“Despite being a big action star, Rajinikanth avoided too much gore and violence. Hence, it was a bit shocking to watch Rajinikanth severe the head of a thug in “Jailer. No doubt, heroic acts are turning serious and unhealthy,” adds Teja. He also claims that Telugu cinema witnessed more violence in faction-ridden movies like ‘Samarasimha Reddy, ‘Narasimha Naidu’, “Yagnam’ and ‘Indra’ which shed more blood on screen. “Telugu films based on Rayalaseema faction boasted of more violence in comparison to other films. A variety of weapons were used to chop off heads, arms, and legs which spread a wrong message in society as they are billed to be real-life stories,” points out Teja.

Whether justified or not, violence and gore have always been part of South Indian cinema as well in the last few years. Recent blockbusters like ‘Vikram”, ‘RRR’, ‘KGF 2, and “Veera Simha Reddy’ splattered bloodshed and violence on a grand scale on big screens.

Did KGF encourage big stars to indulge in gory acts? Particularly,  after hotshot star Yash’s famed dialogue ‘Violence Violence’ from 'KGF 2' became a rage and triggered violence in movies. “I think we should not blame one film KGF for growing violence in films in the south. For instance, Hollywood films are also loaded with action sequences but they are well choreographed and stylishly captured so they look good on screen. But our filmmakers lack that finesse,” says producer Lagadapati Sridhar, who blames a few directors who  trying to outwit each other with an overdose of action.

“Few directors have to think about showcasing heroism in new ways, rather than just trying to outdo each other by bringing more fighters and increasing unnecessary bloodshed and crossing all the limits,” he adds. He also claims that thrilling video games have also inspired makers to design slam-bang action. “There are many violent video games that could influence our filmmakers. Even violence in video games has been condemned for promoting aggressive thoughts among kids and youth, so films have to be reined in a bit, he concludes.