Tamil actors who used expletives in their roles, from Kamal Hassan to Suriya

In light of the ongoing controversy over Thalapathy Vijay’s language in Leo, it is important to examine how profanity is used in Tamil movies. Characters on television and in movies often use these phrases when they are amused, under stress, or angry. Bad language is used in the dialogue of K Balachander’s Tamil films Apoorva Raagangal, Thappu Taalgal, and Aval Oru Serial. In Kamal Haasan’s character’s early years in Mani Ratnam’s Nayakan, which also stars Kamal Haasan, swear words are spoken. Even in the Bala-directed movie Nachiyar, actress Jyothika delivered speech using coarse language.

Other notable examples are actor Suriya’s audacious vocabulary in the Venkat Prabhu movie Maasu Enna Masilamani and actor Ajith’s unfiltered talk in the Mankatha movie. But what has brought the issue to light recently is the debate surrounding Thalapathy Vijay’s much awaited movie Leo.

Due to the use of a swear word in one of Vijay’s lines as Prathiban in the movie’s trailer, the audience paid close attention to it. In the scenario, Vijay was seen becoming frustrated with his on-screen wife and using a harsh word to characterize his foe. Viewers expressed anger and worry over its inclusion.

Leo’s director Lokesh Kanagaraj provided his opinion on the subject in a recent media interview. He justified his decision by saying that the term and feeling were appropriate given the scene’s context. “We sometimes utter some words out of anger,” he said in further explanation. Before filming the sequence, Kanagaraj claimed that Vijay had asked for his permission to use the phrase, and the director had agreed that it was necessary.

The phrase was said by Parthiban, Vijay’s Leo character, according to Kanagaraj. The movie, which has attracted a lot of interest, will be released on October 19 and has received a U/A classification. The debate about the use of harsh language in Tamil film is still in the spotlight because to the uproar around this particular passage in Leo.