Chennai: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday joined the growing list of supporters for the beleaguered Vijay-starrer Mersal even as the movie’s producer Murali Ramaswamy reportedly succumbed to pressure from the state BJP leaders and agreed to delete the ‘offensive’ portions on GST and digital India.
“Mr Modi, Cinema is a deep expression of Tamil culture and language. Don’t try to demonetise Tamil pride by interfering in Mersal,” Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet which was retweeted by former Union Minister P. Chidambaram.
Adding his own bit, PC tweeted: “Notice to film makers: Law is coming, you can only make documentaries praising government’s policies”. And he said in another tweet said: “BJP demands deletion of dialogues in Mersal. Imagine the consequences if Parasakthi was released today”.
Parasakthi was the debut film of Sivaji Ganesan in 1952 and the electrifying dialogues written by DMK chief M. Karunanidhi, who was then a budding leader in the party and a screen writer, fiercely attacked Hindu rituals while espousing reformist and egalitarian ideals.
Responding to the PC tweet, BJP national secretary H. Raja said if Parasakthi was released today, people would not allow the government to run temples by quoting a popular dialogue from the film (questioning faith and worship). The BJP leader was obviously trying to use the ‘Mersal stick’ to also reiterate his party’s stand that the state government should refrain from administering temples and hand them over to the devotees. The BJP and rightwing outfits have opposed Jayalalithaa’s moves to strengthen the temple administration by getting the state HR&CE to handle them.
Back to Mersal, Raja was convinced that the film “exposed Vijay’s hatred for Modiji” and on a larger plane, cast deep suspicion whether it was all part of a larger scheme to target the BJP. He also saw a Christian hand in the plot—perhaps the movie’s director Atlee is a Christian—and concluded that all those offensive, misleading dialogues must be removed.
Nationwide support for film
The demand for Mersal's slaughter came up even earlier from Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan and state BJP president Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan, who slammed the film for its "untruths" about the GST. The latter in a tweet said, "MERSAL ridicules Dedicated Doctors disheartened/ ambulance drivers shown corrupt/doctors should take 5rupees while the actor gets crores??"
While the BJP state unit has found itself isolated on Mersal-its sole political 'ally' AIADMK has its own million problems and cannot be bothered about the film's tirade on GST and corporate healthcare-the party is taking a big hit at the national level, what with Rahul Gandhi and Chidambaram joining those questioning the saffron intolerance towards criticism. Former Union minister Shashi Tharoor said that the Congress stood for freedom of expression. "Remember: @INCIndia stands for freedom of expression, in or out of power. Creative freedom is only safe in the hands of those who value it," he tweeted tagging Rahul Gandhi.
Rights activists too are backing the Vijay movie against the BJP attack. "Once a film is certified for exhibition, there is no question of asking for further cuts in the movie. We have a fundamental right to freedom of expression and speech. Any person having a different point of view can freely express that instead of demanding to curb something unpalatable to him or her", said rights lawyer Sudha Ramalingam.
AISMK chief and actor Sarath Kumar tweeted: "A film which is CERTIFIED by censor board cannot be questioned. If questionable, why censor board at all?#Mersel." Activist-star Kamal Haasan had earlier said, "Mersal was certified. Don't re-censor it. Counter criticism with logical response. Don't silence critics. India will shine when it speaks."
Despite all that growing support for his film, it appeared that Mersal's producer Murali Ramaswami reportedly met Dr Tamilisai and agreed to delete the 'offensive' portions on GST and digital India. This could not be confirmed till late night as DC's attempts to reach him did not succeed, though the film's distributors and theatre-owners maintained that Mersal remained untouched by the saffron brush with all the scenes intact.
