It looks as if Tamilian actor Joseph Vijay Chandrashekhar, better known as simply ‘Vijay’, is in trouble again. His recent movie ‘Sarkar’, released on Diwali, has invoked the ire of the incumbent AIADMK government, which has called for certain controversial scenes to be cut from the movie, failing which cases of sedition might be slapped on the makers of the movie, including the director, AR Murugadoss, famous for movies like Ramana, Ghajini, Thuppakki, Holiday etc.
The controversy surfaced when the movie released in the theatres. To give the credit where due, Vijay surprised many by essaying the role of a corporate wizard, who returns to his native land to remove the malaise caused by years of institutionalized socialism. The way he convinces people, despite being a capitalist at heart, is something not many people would digest wholeheartedly in Indian cinema.
However, the controversy emerged when in one scene; actor Vijay is shown as throwing government allotted mixer grinders into the fire, taking a clear potshot at the freebie system popularized by the AIADMK government. What further infuriated the government, according to the petition filed against the movie, was the portrayal of the main villain, Komalavalli, which is apparently the original name of the deceased CM of Tamil Nadu, J Jayalalitha.
As such, the AIADMK government called for pruning off the scenes mentioned, failing which they wouldn’t hesitate from slapping cases of sedition against the makers of the movie. This is not the first time that the Tamilian actor has invoked controversy with his movies.
Right from the time when DMK tried to stall his efforts in getting his 2011 ‘Kaavalan’ released, he has messed with almost every politician known. His popular film ‘Thuppakki’, which was remade into the hugely successful movie ‘Holiday’, was also panned for showing the minority community in a negative light, and one of his recent flicks ‘Mersal’ was also under the radar for being critical of the GST rules.
Matters turned worse for the makers when the policemen raided the home of AR Murugadoss. To quote the director himself, “……..Police had come to my house late tonight and banged the door several times. Since I was not there they left the premises. Right now I was told there is no police outside my house.” Following the raid, the director had to apply for anticipatory bail, and as of now, the scenes have been removed.
However, if one goes by the plot line, one would also know the real intention behind this arbitrary decision. The movie shows how a corporate wizard successfully manages to convince the people of Tamil Nadu in choosing a better government over the socialist ones, something which is taboo to even mention in Indian cinema, forget depicting. No wonder it invoked the ire of the current TN government, and it would be interesting to see if Vijay takes this insult lying down or unleashes another reform in the regional cinema.
