Much ado about height

A thoughtless remark on actor Suriya’s physical appearance by two female VJs on a popular TV channel show has snowballed into a major controversy.  Their humorous take did not go down well with the huge fan base of Suriya. And ever since the video went viral the two anchors —Sangeetha and Nivedita from Franka Sollatta show aired on Sun Music channel — have been facing the wrath of netizens and fans of the actor.

The show, which takes potshots at celebrities and also chats on hot filmy gossip, poked fun at Suriya’s height. During a discussion about Suriya’s next with KV Anand, the reference was featured as it was rumoured that Amitabh Bachchan had been roped in for the movie. It was in this context that the anchors had referred to Suriya’s Singam series in which he had acted with the tall Anushka Shetty. They had commented that if Suriya were to act with Amitabh Bachchan, he might have to use a stool or sit down and do the shots.  Many from the industry, including Vishal, Dhanajeyan, SR Prabhu, actor Karunakaran and Gnanavelraja, reacted furiously to it.

Being the Nadigar Sangam secretary, Vishal came down heavily on the show. He tweeted, “Funny !! ???? Absolutely not.  How unethical in the name of sense of humour. Totally senseless.”

Talking to DC, the actor said, “Nadigar Sangam has sent a notice to Sun TV asking for an explanation and what action has been taken on those involved in the show. Let them make any comments on the performance or about the film, but it is absolutely unethical to make a comment on physical appearance which is not acceptable.” He added, “Will they keep quiet if we make a derogatory remark on their channel?”

Comedian Karunakaran said, “When you don’t have the skills to run a show, don’t be stupid. Please!” Producer SR Prabhu remarked, “Won’t people there be bothered about growing brains?” he asked, referring to the television channel.

Trade analyst and producer Dhanananjeyan wrote, “Very shocking to see such mean comments in a popular music channel on the height of a big star. Looks like they have not read history —  many great men like Napoleon who achieved global fame were short. Sun Music must remove this program video totally.”

Referring to his actress daughter comedian Vidyulekha Raman, actor Mohan Ram said, “My daughter has been fighting such body shaming. Judging people based on colour /size /looks even disability. Crying shame in what is considered humour today.”

Producer Gnanavelraja wrote as follows, “Dump ******** need to be treated in some mental hospital. Look into the mirror and spit on yourself.”

VJ Manimegalai, who works for the same channel, came out with a statement in her social page in support of the actor. The VJ has quoted a dialogue from Suriya’s latest hit movie Thaana Serndha Koottam —“It’s not important how tall you are but how tall you can rise hinting at personal, professional success”
Meanwhile, hundreds of Suriya fans had gathered in front of the TV channel office in the city to vent their anger and demanded that the channel tender a public apology. 

To put an end to the controversy, Suriya took to his Twitter page asking his fans to not waste their time by doing this. He tweeted, “AnbaanaFans. We don’t need to stoop low to act against substandard criticism. Channelise your time and energy for good things through which the society would benefit.”

On the flip side, some people are cringing at the anger coming from an industry that is known for cultivating body shaming in the pretext of humor as in commercial cinema and television shows. They do so with respect to dark skin, obesity, height and even disability.  “After all, it is just a show meant for that and should just be taken in a lighter vein,” a VJ said on condition of anonymity.