Theatre owners put pressure on Sun Pictures to delete the contentious portions of the film Sarkar after their establishments were targeted by AIADMK supporters.
Chennai: The makers of Sarkar, a political thriller starring actor Vijay, have reportedly agreed to remove or mute controversial portions allegedly critical of Tamil Nadu's AIADMK government after two ministers levelled sedition charges against them.
Members of the party protested outside cinema halls and protested against the makers. They also attacked a few theatres in Madurai, Chennai and Tiruvannamalai.
State ministers CV Shanmugam and Kadambur C Raju had objected to scenes showing the state government giving away mixer grinders to voters and people burning pre-election freebies, besides some dialogues critical of the government. However, the production house Sun Pictures is yet to make a formal announcement on the cuts.
Shanmugam, who objected the scenes, said, "They are showing freebies given by the elected government being burnt. This amounts to indirectly inciting people, and comes under sedition." Shanmugam also said the screening of Sarkar is akin to "terrorist activity".
Kadambur Raju had also threatened to take action unless the objectionable scenes were removed. Theatre owners also put pressure on Sun Pictures to delete the contentious portions after their establishments were targeted by AIADMK supporters.
Speaker of opposition party DMK accused the AIADMK for crushing the argument and said, "The ruling party and its ministers are indulging in intimidation. People are dying of dengue and the impact of demonetisation is felt even today, but the state government is trying to divert attention by picking on films."
Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan also Tweeted in support of the film and wrote, "Illegally opposing a duly certified film isn't new for this government. A government that doesn't have the guts to accept criticism will get derailed. This gang of political traders will soon perish".
முறையாகச்சான்றிதழ் பெற்று வெளியாகியிருக்கும் சர்கார் படத்துக்கு,சட்டவிரோதமான அரசியல் சூழ்ச்சிகள் மூலம் அழுத்தம் கொடுப்பது இவ்வரசுக்கு புதிதல்ல.விமர்சனங்களை ஏற்கத்துணிவில்லாத அரசு தடம் புரளும்.அரசியல் வியாபாரிகள் கூட்டம் விரைவில் ஒழியும்.நாடாளப்போகும் நல்லவர் கூட்டமே வெல்லும்.
— Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan)Shanmugam replied to the remark and said, "If we were intolerant, we would not have allowed the film to be screened. Instead, we gave permission for seven shows daily." So, after the removal of controversial scenes, we expect the film to enjoy a smooth ride without any trouble.
This is not the first time Vijay's films have run into trouble over their political views. In 2017, the BJP objected to his film Mersal for promoting "misconceptions" about the central government's schemes -- including the Goods and Services Tax, demonetisation and the Digital India campaign.
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