Netizens criticise Thunivu for portrayal of mutual funds

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Netizens criticise Thunivu for portrayal of mutual funds

Some netizens have been criticising the movie for its portrayal of mutual funds, even as Ajith's Pongal release Thunivu is running to packed houses across Tamil Nadu and is inching towards the coveted 200 crore club in terms of worldwide box office collections.

In the movie, it's shown that the vigilante protagonist is after a bank owner who lures customers into investing in mutual funds that invest in eight illegal companies and the scam is worth Rs 25,000 crore.

While the movie is receiving praise for its slick Hollywood-like visuals and Ajith's badass' outing, netizens are complaining that director H Vinoth Kumar should have done some basic research while trying to uncover a supposed mutual fund scam in the movie.

Netizens say films like Thunivu will show mutual funds in bad light and the whole campaign of Mutual Funds Sahi Hai falls flat on its face if a mass medium like cinema vilifies them as a Ponzi scheme.

I never thought Vinoth would come up with the worst research background for thunivu especially on mutual fund investment. Mutual Funds are less risky due to their diversified portfolio, according to a Twitter user.

Another Twitter user said that the uninformed portrayal of mutual funds in Thunivu will upend Sebi's efforts to improve investor awareness.

A mutual fund can't take any exposure to private places and unlisted securities issued by the sponsor of the mutual fund or their group companies. The investment cannot exceed 25% of the scheme's portfolio, according to Sebi's rules for listed securities of the sponsor and their group companies.

Thunivu portrays mutual funds as a well-regulated and trusted investment option, like unregulated chit funds and gold savings schemes, according to a newspaper editorial recently.

Thunivu was good, but showing mutual funds as a scam was a little overboard, said another moviegoer on Twitter.

People slammed the director for taking too many cinematic liberties while ignoring the real-world implications.

Around 60% of the US population invest in Mutual funds while only 5% of the Indian population invests in MF, according to Stats. Another Twitter user said that a big film like Thunivu carrying deviating messages on MF would have a negative impact.

The movie did good business at the ticket windows during the first 9 days of its release. Ajith Kumar's Thunivu clashed with Thalapathy Vijay's Varisu at the box office. Thunivu marks Ajith Kumar's third collaboration with director H Vinoth and producer Boney Kapoor.