Chennai: Paattali Makkal Katchi's problem with the cinema industry is nothing new. From actor Rajinikanth's Baba to recent Vijay's Sarkar, PMK has always succeeded in finding something wrong with the films. However, the party's grudge against actor Suriya sometimes seems to overtake PMK's grudge against movies.
PMK has warned against the release of Suriya's 'Edharkkum Thunindhavan' in Tamil Nadu until the actor apologizes. PMK's issue with both the films Baba and Sarkar was that actors smoked in the film. But the party's problem with actor Suriya is the portrayal of a particular cop's caste in his previous film 'Jai Bhim'.
While one could argue that an actor can decide whether to smoke in a film or not, the actor is not responsible for the plot or portrayal of characters in a film. PMK wanted Suriya to apologize for showing PMK's caste in a bad light. Based on a real-life incident, the movie is about the struggles of underprivileged SCs at the hands of privileged caste Hindus. The film was critically acclaimed and it almost entered the Oscar race.
Instead of taking their issue with the film to director Nyanavel, PMK decided to hold Suriya responsible. Since he hasn't yet 'apologized' for something that's not his fault, PMK has warned that the new film 'Edharkum Thunindhavan' should not be released. So, at the theatres it was released in, there was heavy police protection.
Talking about this, producer K Rajan said, "What PMK is doing is wrong. We have invested crores of money in the film. And asking for a film not to be released is like asking us to shut shop. It's not produced by Suriya. So how does it matter that Suriya acted in the film?"
He said that party chief Ramadoss knows better than this. "Ramadoss (PMK chief) knows all this. So it's his responsibility to ask his party cadre to behave. Attacking someone over how a character is portrayed in a film is wrong," he further added.
