EXCLUSIVE! Director Vijay Yelakanti on Maa Kaali being labelled as a propaganda film: 'Thousands died during the incident, and its effects are still felt'

Filmmaker Vijay Yelakanti, who rose to fame with Wife of Ram, is now gearing up for the release of Maa Kaali, which delves into the backdrop of  August 16, 1946’s communal violence, known in history as the ‘Direct Action Day’ or ‘1946 Calcutta Killings’.

The teaser of the film garnered a tremendous response from fans. While some praised it for bringing up this untold story, a certain section termed it as a propaganda movie. Now, director Vijay has shared his thoughts on the movie and narrated his journey from conceptualization to execution.

While talking to Firstpost, the director spoke about the audience’s reaction and said, “I am very happy about the praise and attention the teaser is getting. What saddens me is that people think that you need guts to tell a real historic event which happened in recent times.”

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Talking about the research of _Maa Kaali_ , he said, “As this is a historical event, I wanted to make sure we get all facts right. We had a dedicated Research wing whose job was to gather data and cross-check everything which we put in the film. We also hired Cultural Consultants to ensure the authenticity of Bengali culture is maintained. The Censor Board has pointed out several scenes and asked for references, which we documented in detail, then the censor was cleared.”

When questioned about the film being accused of propaganda movie, Vijay responded, “Propaganda by definition is pushing a specific point of view. In this film, I am telling a story of a real incident which led to India’s partition. Thousands died during the incident, and its effects are still felt. How can bringing a real-life historic incident onto screen become propaganda?”

Raima also shared her thoughts on the topic and said, “This is all subjective. As I told earlier, this story of Bengalis needs to be told, and I am doing that.”