Release of ‘Valmiki’ stalled in Anantapur

The release of Telugu film Valmiki , a remake of Tamil movie Jigarthanda , on Friday was stalled in Anantapur district with a number of people from the Valmiki community raising objections over its title.

The film is a gangster comedy entertainer, directed by Harish Shankar and actors Varun Tej, Atharvaa Murali and Pooja Hegde in the lead. District Collector S. Satyanarayana, in an order on Thursday, asked the Joint Collector to ensure that it was not screened in any cinema in the district as law and order problems were anticipated. Superintendent of Police B. Satya Yesu Babu has been asked to take steps to tackle any law and order issues.

Some members of Valmiki associations have been protesting against it, as according to them, their sentiments were hurt. Three months ago when the film unit tried to shoot some scenes at Mundabandapalli Village in Anantapur rural mandal, they were stopped by people hailing from Boya community, which is the majority community in the district.

The Boya community leaders and some people’s representatives from political parties pointed out that while Valmiki was worshipped as a god by the people of the community, the role played by the hero in the film was different and hurt the sentiments of the people. They had sought change of title and threatened to stop the exhibition of the movie if the title was not changed.

The District Collector said in view of the situation, screening of the movie was suspended.

Kurnool too

Authorities in Kurnool also decided to stall the screening of the film in the district. District collector G. Veerapandian passed an order suspending screening of the film in 25 theatres and multiplexes across the district.

A relay hunger strike was launched in Adoni town since Wednesday by Bajrang Dal and Boya community members demanding that the screening of the film be stopped. The protesters also demanded that the filmmakers change the name of the film.