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Indhudaa (That's Indhu!, Tamil; 2026)
Written & Directed By: Chinnappa Ganesan
This is a low-budget independent production in the vein of Vivek Agnihotri's 'The Files' series - Kashmir Files and Kerala Files. It may be a response to the many Christian evangelist films we have seen before. If those films try to ridicule some Hindu beliefs as archaic and nonsensical, this one questions Christians about their own scriptures.
From a production quality perspective, there is ample room for improvement, perhaps even a whole-house overhaul. The script is weak, the editing is poor, the actors are too stiff, the cuts are poor, and the comedy falls flat. The filmmakers must have known that this film would not make it big at the box office and that it would not be cleared by the Censor Board. They released it on YouTube for free before approval, hoping to break even, at least, via crowdfunding.
The filmmakers, anticipating the imminent Tamil Nadu State Elections, decided to highlight certain religious issues that appear to threaten Sanātana Dharma in the land of a thousand temples. Many members of the Hindu community feel they are treated as second-class citizens in a milieu that seems to favour the minority. They believe many of their sons and daughters are being duped into converting to Christianity and Islam.
Another point of contention is the abuse of caste privileges afforded to backward castes. Amid the Dalit awakening in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the oppressed group within the Parayar community, who worked as agricultural labourers, gravediggers, tanners, and funeral workers, was classified as Hindu Adi Dravidars. They were so named to indicate that they were the region's original inhabitants. They were discriminated against and denied entry to temples. Forced to live as outcasts outside villages, they soon fell behind in education and living conditions. They were given special status through affirmative action to catch up in literacy and gain access to higher-paying jobs. Leaders such as Ambedkar and EV Ramasamy worked towards this end.
The government soon began issuing Caste Certificates to enable them to claim what was due to them.
This film highlights a few social problems. Firstly, there is a group of newly converted Christians who do the dirty work of foreigners to spread Christianity among ignorant Hindus. There are many crypto-Christians who hide their religious affiliations to covertly spread the faith, while acting as if they are one among them in the Hindu crowd. Many crypto-Christian political leaders work in cahoots with the governmental machinery to issue fake caste certificates, enabling easier access to higher education and jobs.
The movie also briefly mentions 'love jihad', which many parties deny exists. There is also a scene in which a Muslim extremist insists that a restaurateur display a halal signboard outside his business premises. The shop owner's refusal creates tension.
Even though all parties may deny that such animosity exists in Tamil Nadu, the fact that the Deputy Chief Minister, himself a closet Christian, can bluntly say on national television that there is a pressing need to squash Sanathana Dharma like Covid or Dengue speaks volumes.
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