Suriya Sivakumar rejected PMK youth wing leader Anbumani Ramadoss’s charge that the actor’s recent film, Jai Bhim, had insulted the Vanniyars. He said he and the film crew had no intention to insult any community; in fact, changes were made to the film immediately after a few such instances were pointed out.
In a statement, Mr. Suriya said, “I am doing my best to improve the lives of fellow human beings. I have the support and love of people belonging to all sections across India. I have no need or intention to seek publicity by insulting anyone.”
He said that while he agreed that freedom of speech should not be used to insult any community, the right to freedom of speech should be protected from attacks. “The film is not a documentary, and it begins with a disclaimer that the story is fictionalised, based on a real incident. It also states that the incidents and the names do not refer to anyone or any incident in particular,” he said. “Those who do not really care about the vulnerable will use their power against them. In this respect, caste, religion, language and race doesn’t matter. There is evidence to prove this throughout the world.”
Mr. Suriya said Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss’s similar criticism that the character of a police officer was named ‘Gurumurthy’ to hint at late PMK leader J. Guru was also made by others who said the character was named after another personality. “If the name of the antagonist is believed to refer to someone or the other in every case, there is no end to it. The voice of protest against injustice should not be turned into politics of ‘names’ and diluted.”
CPI(M) State secretary K. Balakrishnan requested Mr. Suriya to extend financial assistance to Parvathi, wife of Rajakannu, whose death at the hands of the police was depicted in Jai Bhim. “Ms. Parvathi, who fought the case with courage, makes a living as a daily-wager in Chennai. You highlighted the problems of the suppressed sections in the film. I request you to extend a helping hand to her,” he said.
