Vetrimaaran opens up about a humiliating expereince at Delhi airport

Recently DMK LokSabha MP Kanimozhi had tweeted about an unpleasant experience she faced at the Chennai Airport where a CISF personnel had asked her if she was Indian after she said she did not know Hindi.

Now, Kollywood filmmaker Vetrimaaran had shared a similar humiliating experience at the Delhi airport in 2011.

During an interview with a magazine, he said, “We were returning to India after the screening of ‘Aadukalam’ in August 2011 at the Montreal Film Festival in Canada. An immigration official at Delhi airport spoke to me in Hindi and when I said that I didn’t know Hindi, the officer questioned how come I don’t know the ‘mother language of the country’. I told him that Tamil is my mother tongue and when I want to communicate with others I use English.”

After hearing out Vetrimaaran’s explanation the Delhi airport official became very angry and said, “You people are like this…You Tamils, Kashmiris are only breaking this country.”

Even after ‘Aadukalam’ producer Kathiresan and music composer GV Prakash intervened and told the official that Vetrimaaran was a National Award winner, the filmmaker was made to stand for 45 minutes.

“How can speaking my mother tongue disrupt the unity of the nation? How my mother tongue will hinder the development of the country,” questioned Vetrimaaran.

Director Vetrimaaran, who is celebrating his birthday today, is one of the most versatile directors in the country. He worked as an assistant under legendary director Balu Mahendra almost a decade, Vetrimaaran made his directorial debut with sleeper-hit ‘Polladhavan’ in 2007.

His 2011 blockbuster ‘Aadukalam’ went on to win six National Awards, including the ‘Best Director’, ‘Best Actor’ and ‘Best Screenplay’.

His 2016 flick ‘Visaranai’ also had won three National Awards and was selected as India’s official entry at the 89th Academy Awards for the Best Foreign Language.

His upcoming movie with Suriya is titled as ‘Vaadivasal’.