A day after the BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit objected to the references made to GST and Digital India in the Vijay-starrer Mersal, support poured in for the actor and film maker from many quarters.
Kabali director PA Ranjith said there was no need bow down to any kind of pressure.
"There is no need to remove those scenes. Those scenes talk about what people are going through. When those dialogues were uttered, people applauded in theatres, this shows what people are thinking," PA Ranjith said.
The Congress and the DMK too have attacked the ruling party at the centre over the issue.
Actor-turned-politician Khushboo Sundar, national spokesperson of the Congress party on Friday alleged that the BJP was “throttling freedom.”
She tweeted, “Sme r bound 2 hve sleepless nights ovr #Mersal..demanding removal of scenes is yet another way of throttling freedom..it shows ur fear #BJP.”
Similarly, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president S Thirunavukkarasar spoke in favour of freedom of expression and asked if the BJP state chief was the CBFC chief.
Media, artists etc have freedom to say their opinions. A movie reflects what people think, and politicians should take it sportively. People have been affected, how can BJP ask for its removal? So should all movies from now on praise governments? Every movie maker has freedom of expression in a democracy. Is Tamilisai Soundararajan a BJP leader or censor chief? Are filmmakers supposed to get her approval for scripts?S Thirunavukkarasar, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president
Echoing their ally’s viewpoint, DMK’s spokesperson Saravanan said, "Why is the BJP so jittery? If someone has put out stuff that is not factual, let BJP counter with facts.”
“Movie disclaimers say it is based on fictional stuff, then why is the BJP taking it so seriously? They are taking it too far," he added.
However, sources say that Thenandal Films, the movie’s producers have agreed in principle to remove the references. A source said that though this may have been conveyed to the BJP, it was highly unlikely that any changes will be made till the end of the Deepavali weekend.
The controversy however, has created a bigger buzz around the movie that was already doing well at the box office.
(The story first appeared on The News Minute and has been republished with permission.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)