Amidst the Pongal festival fervor, the Tamil film industry finds itself embroiled in a controversy as Dev Ramnath, actor and producer of the recently released Parasakthi, has alleged that fans of actor Vijay are attempting to sabotage his film. Parasakthi, starring Sivakarthikeyan, faced a delayed release but finally hit theaters on January 10, 2026, after overcoming censorship hurdles.
Ramnath has taken to social media to voice his concerns, sharing screenshots of negative reviews and accusing Vijay's fans of orchestrating a smear campaign against Parasakthi. He claims that these fans are deliberately giving negative reviews, spreading old videos to make the film look bad, influencing public opinion, shouting political slogans in theaters, and manipulating ratings on platforms like BookMyShow.
"Just because we're releasing alongside your film doesn't give you the right to sabotage ours. We announced our release date first. Did we try to stop your film? Never," Ramnath stated in a post on X. He further added, "Negative reviews, using old videos, influencing people, shouting political slogans in theatres, messing with BMS ratings. This isn't competition. You did the same to a big film last year".
Parasakthi, directed by Sudha Kongara, is set against the backdrop of the 1960s anti-Hindi protests in Tamil Nadu. The film's release was moved up from January 14 to January 10 to coincide with the Pongal festival. It received mixed reviews, but the historical backdrop and performances by the cast, including Dev Ramnath, Sivakarthikeyan, Prithvi Rajan, Guru Somasundaram, Basil Joseph, and Papri Ghosh, have resonated with audiences.
The controversy arose as Parasakthi was initially set to clash at the box office with Vijay's Jana Nayagan, which was billed as the actor's final film. However, Jana Nayagan's release was postponed at the last minute due to certification issues, effectively granting Parasakthi a near-monopoly during the festive period.
Ramnath highlighted the difficulties his team faced with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), stating that they were dealing with censor issues just as Vijay's team was. He mentioned he was at the CBFC office every day in Chennai and Mumbai to overcome hurdles and that Parasakthi received its censor certificate less than 18 hours before release.
The situation is further complicated by the fact that Parasakthi is distributed under Red Giant Movies, a banner owned by Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, whom Vijay's political party, Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK), considers a political opponent. This has reportedly led to increased tensions between fans of Vijay and Sivakarthikeyan, with allegations that TVK party members are involved in smear campaigns against Parasakthi.
Ramnath urged audiences to not let online negativity overshadow stories worth celebrating, referencing Parasakthi's focus on student movements in Tamil history. He expressed concern that these negative review campaigns are creating an unfair environment for filmmakers. He worries these negative review campaigns are making things unfair for filmmakers and that this isn't healthy for the industry. He also pointed out that similar digital attacks happened against another big film last year.
