An event for the upcoming sci-fi thriller Chimera turned into a platform for pointed industry critique, with veteran directors R.V. Udhayakumar and Perarasu using the occasion to comment on the conduct of top-salaried actors and the media’s portrayal of film personalities.
Udhayakumar, President of the Directors’ Association, lamented what he sees as a decline in creative collaboration. “They used to torture us to get the story right,” he said, referring to actors of a previous era. “Once they started getting over 100 crores in salary, they stopped listening to stories.” He also criticized the “caravan culture” for isolating actors and hindering the communal spirit of filmmaking.
Director Perarasu connected the film’s theme—the emergence of animalistic traits in humans—to real-world events and media ethics. “The story has created a confusion, because 90 percent of us here are living like animals,” he stated, referencing recent cases of police brutality. He then questioned the media’s focus on celebrities in legal trouble, citing the recent arrest of an actor. “Did they show the face of the person who committed violence against a woman at Anna University? Does anyone remember the face of the culprit in the Thiruvanam police station incident?” Perarasu asked. “Realize that if we in the cinema industry make a mistake, this world will portray us like traitors.”
The film, directed by Manick Jai .N, explores the physical and psychological impact of introducing animal cells into the human body. Manick confirmed that Chimera was shot directly as a trilingual film in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi, positioning it as a pan-India project.
The theme of industry inequity was also addressed by actress Soumya, one of the film’s female leads. “The hero of this film has good acting talent. It is surprising why he is not getting opportunities,” she remarked. “But if you have money and influence, even those without talent get opportunities.”
Chimera stars newcomer LNT Ethish in the lead role, alongside Soumya, Krishna Nandu, and Gnaneswari. The film’s concept was described by music composer Vignesh Raja as challenging to work on, with scenes that were “frightening.”