Vijay’s Thuppaki to go under knife

Veteran producer and director S.A. Chandrashekaran, father of actor Vijay, said his son would play a Muslim in his next film

Bowing to pressure from angered Muslim groups across the State, the filmmakers of Vijay-starrer Thuppaki have decided to remove the objectionable portions.

Director A.R. Murugadoss and producer Kalaipuli S. Thanu offered a public apology to the members of the community on Thursday and promised to delete certain scenes.

Addressing a joint press conference with 10 representatives from the Federation of Muslim Organisations and Political Parties, comprising 24 Muslim organisations, Murugadoss said, “

Thupakki , which released on Deepavali, is running successfully. However, we got to know from representatives of some organisations that some scenes in the movie hurt the sentiments of Muslims. I wish to assure all that we had no intention of hurting their sentiments. I believe strongly in the fact that they are our brothers. We have agreed to delete scenes to which they raised objections.”

This came after a closed door meeting between the filmmakers and representatives of the Muslims groups that lasted over three hours.

The director did not specify the number of scenes that would be deleted from the film as discussions regarding this were still on. The cuts would be implemented in a day or two, a source said.

Veteran producer and director S.A. Chandrashekaran, father of actor Vijay, said, “We did not intend to hurt the sentiments of Muslims. I want Vijay to be in the hearts of all mothers. My son and I respect all religions. At this juncture, I wish to state that Vijay will play a Muslim in his next film.”

Mohammad Haneefa, co-ordinator of Federation of Muslim Organisations and Political Parties, while accepting the apology of the filmmakers said, “The representatives of 24 organisations expressed their pain over the film on Thursday at a meeting. We brought our displeasure to the attention of filmmakers who have apologised and promised to delete the objectionable scenes. Certain scenes will be cut immediately while others will be removed a little later. We request filmmakers to not make movies that showcase Muslims in negative light in the future. We also request actors to not act in such movies.”