TAMIL NADU, INDIA, July 12, 2014 (by Sudha G Tilak): In a state where not eating meat is associated with brahminism, it is remarkable that the film has not attracted charges of reinforcing casteism. A Tamil film espousing vegetarianism is not only running to packed cinemas across the state, but also winning critical acclaim in the regional press. Titled Saivam, the film was released on June 27 in more than 220 theaters in India and abroad. In Tamil Nadu, where vegetarianism is a euphemism for brahminism and where contemporary politics has been shaped by a social movement with a strong anti-brahmin current, the film’s success is remarkable because it has so far not faced accusations of caste-bias or imposing brahmin values. More to the point, it has not attracted controversy probably because it has been able to convey that it is advocating vegetarianism out of a compassion for animals and not concern of caste purity.
Vegetarianism is a sensitive subject in Tamil Nadu. But brahmins are not the only vegetarians in the state. Saiva Pillais, land-owning devotees of Siva, and the Vellalars, an agricultural community, also do not eat meat. Indeed, the Tamil word for vegetarian is saivam, from which the film get its title. But a form of discrimination in the state’s real estate market reinforces vegetarianism’s almost exclusive association with brahmins. But Vijay, the film maker, who is a vegetarian said his film had managed to win converts. He said he had been receiving texts and email messages from Tamils across the world, telling him how moved they had been by the film’s message of compassion. A leading filmmaker phoned him to say he’d turned vegetarian after watching the film.