Jai Bhim controversy: Director Vetrimaran comes out in support of actor Suriya

Stating that Suriya was the one star who was redefining stardom, National Award-winning Tamil director Vetrimaran on Tuesday (November 16) expressed his support for Suriya and his just-released film ‘Jai Bhim’. Taking to Twitter, Vetrimaran said, “No one can be made to feel lesser for doing the right thing.” He went on to say, “The commitment of director T J Gnanavel to make this film to let the world know the plight of the victims and Suriya’s constant efforts towards social justice, on and offscreen is truly inspiring.#JaiBhim”

Stating that it was only natural that these films cause angst amongst those who did not want the status quo to change, the director posted the hashtag #WeStandWithSuriya.

Further, he went on to say that films that question the inequalities and injustices of a society too are weapons towards social justice. “We stand by the whole team of #JaiBhim,” he said.

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Vetrimaran hasn’t been the only one to express support for Suriya. The entire Tamil film industry seems to have rallied behind the actor in his stand-off with the PMK, over the latter’s allegations that the film ‘Jai Bhim’ had deliberately showcased the Vanniyar community in poor light.

For the unversed, The Vanniyar Sangam president, Pu. Tha. Arulmozhi, sent a legal notice to the producers, director and Amazon, which operates the OTT platform Prime Video, where the film Jai Bhim is being streamed. The notice, which claims Rs 5 crore in damages and a public apology, was issued to 2D Entertainment, Suriya Sivakumar and his wife Jyothika, because their company A.K. International has co-produced the film, the director-screenwriter T.J. Gnanavel and Amazon.

Apart from demanding Rs 5 crore in damages, the Vanniyar Sangam has also sought the removal of the “defamatory scenes”, references to the Vanniyar community and its symbol, the ‘Agni Kundam’, from the movie. And it has sought an unconditional apology from the film’s producers and writer for tarnishing the reputation of Vanniyars.

According to the legal notice, the movie is claimed to have been based on a real-life incident and its storyline draws upon a decision of the Madras High Court.

Earlier, PMK leader and Rajya Sabha MP Anbumani Ramadoss had written to Suriya citing the objectionable portions in the movie, alleging that they deliberately targeted the Vanniyars.

Also read: Jai Bhim Row: Vanniyar Sangam sends legal notice to Suriya & team demanding apology, Rs 5 cr in damages

Responding to the charge, Suriya had pointed out that the ‘Jai Bhim’ unit had put out a disclaimer right at the start of the movie, saying that this was a story that had only been inspired by a real incident and that the characters, names and events were entirely fictional.

Also read: Prakash Raj responds to language row triggered by ‘Jai Bhim’