Actor Suriya and director TJ Gnanavel’s critically acclaimed film Jai Bhim is facing legal trouble. A court in Chennai has ordered the police to file an FIR against Suriya, his wife and actor Jyothika and Gnanavel under charges of allegedly misrepresenting the Vanniyar community in the film, as per a report by The News Minute.
The petition was filed by a Vanniyar group called Rudra Vanniyar Sena, which alleged that people belonging to the community have been shown in a bad light.
They alleged that the movie was showing "Vanniyar phobia" and has an “ulterior motive to instigate communal violence between communities.”
As per a report by The Indian Express, the petition came up for hearing on 29 April 2022, and none of the accused were present in court. The court, in the end, heard the arguments of the community and directed the Chennai police to file an FIR against Suriya, Jyothika and Gnanavel. The next hearing will take place on 20 May.
Suriya was also previously served legal notice by the political outfit Pattali Makkal Katchi. They demanded Rs 5 crore compensation for allegedly defaming the Vanniyar community. The conflict reportedly arose from a scene in the film in which a calendar with the ‘Agni Gundam’ (raging fire) is shown. This is an important symbol that is said to represent the Vanniyar community. Thereby, the argument was that the scene in question allegedly shows the main villain as belonging to their community.
Gnanavel had issued an apology. He had said, “It is unfortunate to ask Suriya to own up to the responsibility. As the director, this is a matter I alone have to take responsibility for, I did not know that a calendar hung in the background will be understood as a reference to a community. It is not our intention to make it a symbol of reference to a particular community and it was only to reflect the period, the year 1995”.
Jai Bhim, starring Suriya in the lead, follows the story of a tribal couple- Sengeni (Lijomol Jose) and Rajakannu (Manikandan). After Rajakannu is arrested and goes missing, Sengeni approaches advocate Chandru (Suriya) to fight for justice. Jai Bhim was produced by 2D Entertainment, which is owned by actor couple Suriya and Jyothika.
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