On Monday evening, at a film event, actor Sivaji shamed female actors for dressing 'inappropriately'. He used an unprintable word for actresses who wear "revealing" attire for events.
Sivaji's moral policing rant is meant to slut-shame actors outside films, not in films. Since Sivaji has never spoken out against item songs, objectifying camera angles, etc., it would be reasonable to assume that he is okay with all of that. He is absolutely fine with male filmmakers who objectify women in films and slut-shame them secretly in film events.
Sivaji's speech didn't come across as natural. Ever since he played a toxic, abusive patriarch in Court, he has been glorified by a section of the male audience. He himself has defended the villainous character, saying that any responsible male head would behave like Mangapathi in real life.
Sivaji can now do one thing. He should launch a small cultural movement on his own. In the age of Internet and social media, it is quite easy for anyone to launch a YouTube channel. He can make videos to persuade Telugu filmmakers to stop incorporating item songs, etc. He can probably give female actors acting lessons based on his knowledge of Savitri and Soundarya, whose names he reverentially invoked during his speech yesterday. He won't do that because he needs to be in the good books of male filmmakers. He needs offers. He needs money. At the same time, he needs viral speeches to raise his social standing among the male audience. Virality is an itch he can't live without.
