Ever since Karthik Subbaraj’s Dorothy hit screens last week, the film has faced homophobia and transphobia on social media. Rishikanth, who played one of the film’s leads, spoke about his idea of masculinity after criticism for the film’s queer themes.
When it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month, it received a standing ovation.
The film has grossed around ₹ 6 crore worldwide so far. His co-star, Sanath, also spoke about receiving hate since the film’s release, stating that he has ‘mixed feelings’ due to it. Because of its theme, others echoed these thoughts, but many came to the film’s defence and called out the hate Dorothy was receiving purely.
On Sudhir Srinivasan’s YouTube channel, Rishikanth was asked about starring back-to-back in the films Modha Rathiri and Dorothy, which explored masculinity beyond what’s usually shown on-screen. It’s very simple…acceptance, softness, understanding, treating others with respect, respecting others’ feelings and thoughts. Rishikanth added that he experienced something similar during Modha Rathiri. Dorothy is directed by Karthik Subbaraj and produced by Guneet Monga Kapoor, Achin Jain and Jyoti Deshpande. The film stars Keerthy Suresh, Sananth and Rishikanth in lead roles. Set in the 1990s, it tells the story of two inseparable friends whose lives are transformed. In a world shaped by caste, toxic masculinity, and violence, how do these men deal when faced with compassion?
The actor said, “According to me, real masculinity is not about showing off. He also said that it was ‘very hurtful’ to see the kind of comments being written online. The actor says he felt better after seeing the reactions in the theatre first-hand.
