Actor Soori opens up on criticism against ‘Kottukkaali’: ‘PS Vinothraj should continue making such films’

The 2024 film earned critical acclaim globally and did phenomenally in the festival circuit. Even upon its release in India, critics hailed it as one of the best films of the year.

However, to much surprise, the film was met with overwhelming criticism from the audiences and tanked at the box office. Criticising its art-house sensibilities as unfit for commercial consumption, many even slammed Soori and Vinothraj for making the film. The response triggered a debate on the standard of mainstream cinema consumed and whether efforts like Kottukkaali needed to be encouraged. The controversy further blew up when filmmaker Ameer Sultan criticised producer Sivakarthikeyan for releasing an art house film in theatres, an act he said was “a kind of violence against Soori.”

In December 2024, in an interview with Cinema Express, Vinothraj opened up on the controversy and said that Soori may never do another film like Kottukkaali. “Soori was so confident in that film. He put so much effort, and his performance is irreplaceable. However, he didn’t get enough credit for it. Instead, they asked why he chose to do a film like this. Obviously, he would question himself, right? Also, he is an artist who has struggled hard to reach the place he is in, and so he won’t do a film like that again,” said Vinothraj.

Now, in an interview with The Hindu, Soori disagreed with Vinothraj and said he would choose a similar script if it spoke to him. “We just need to be clear and honest about the kind of film it is, about how it deserves to be made and how it should be released.”

The Viduthalai-star added that box office collections cannot be used as a metric to measure the success of such off-beat attempts. “Kottukkaali will be one of the most important films in my career and one of the most favourite films of my life. I will always carry Kottukkaali on my hips and admire it; I won’t even place it on the ground. Pandi, the character I played, stands tall in my heart, and so if Vinoth has another such story, and if I like that story, I would love to do it,” he said, before pointing out the critical acclaim Kottukkaali got in the global arena.

“It’s just that the audiences here felt it lacked some commercial aspects. That doesn’t mean filmmakers like Vinothraj should discontinue their efforts. They should continue doing more such films,” he said.

Rooted deep in its milieu, Kottukkaali revolved around a young girl (played by Anna Ben) who is forcibly taken to an exorcist because she is in love with a man from an oppressed caste. The film followed her on a road trip with her fiancé (Pandi) and their families, as they hope that a regressive ritual will “break the spell” she is in.

“Without being pompous about its themes, Kottukkaali excels at showcasing a day in the life of a dysfunctional family doused with patriarchal norms. In an industry where directors suffer from the sophomore curse, Vinothraj delivers a more well-rounded second film, and proves that he’s here to stay… and win,” read The Hindu’s review of the film.

The film received rave reviews at the Berlin International Film Festival — the first-ever Tamil film to premiere at the Berlinale — and the Transilvania Film Festival. It won the Grand Prix Award at the Amur Autumn International Film Festival. The film’s ensemble cast and Nature got a Special Mention for Best Performance at the Singapore International Film Festival.

Backed by Sivakarthikeyan’s SK Productions in association with The Little Wave Productions, the film had cinematography by B Sakthivel and editing by Ganesh Siva.