The Vanniyar Sangam has issued a legal notice to the makers of the Suriya-starrer Jai Bhim accusing them of having included highly defamatory scenes against the community in the movie.
The president of the Sangam has demanded an unconditional apology, apart from paying damages of ₹5 crore.
The notice issued by advocate K. Balu, on behalf of his client Pu. Tha. Arulmozhi, said the Sangam was founded by Pattali Makkal Katchi leader S. Ramadoss in 1980. It had been fighting for long to ensure social empowerment of those who belong to Vanniyakula Kshatriya community.
Claiming that the antagonist in the movie had been projected to be a person belonging to Vanniyar community, the notice accused the makers of the movie of having deliberately maligned the image of the community and lowered its image in the eyes of the people belonging to other communities.
Following through
Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) spokesperson K. Balu on Monday said that the party was determined to follow through with the defamation case against actor Suriya, for insulting the Vanniyar community and its sacred symbol of ‘Agni Kalasam’.
Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Balu said the party leadership was not convinced and satisfied with actor Suriya’s response to the PMK youthwing leader Anbumani Ramadoss.
“We are determined to fight this. Our next course of action will be based on actor Suriya’s response to our legal notice. While the film had a lot of redeeming qualities, it needlessly criminalises Vanniyar community. It could not have been an oversight as the calendar was prepared for the film shoot,” he said. Mr. Balu claimed that many in the audience were misled into thinking that the main accused was indeed from the Vanniyar community. Meanwhile, PMK partymen forced a cinema theatre in Mayiladuthurai town to halt the screening of Suriya-starrer Vel and threatened the actor with physical harm, in protest against the purported ‘negative depiction’ of Vanniyar community.
