Chennai: Actor Vijay on Wednesday thanked his fans, industry colleagues and political leaders for supporting his latest blockbuster ‘Mersal’ whose references to GST and Digital India stoked a major political controversy after the BJP demanded removal of such dialogues. In a statement issued in his official letterhead that read his name as C Joseph Vijay, the actor expressed gratitude for everyone who stood by him after ‘Mersal’ was criticised by BJP leaders.
“Mersal has been highly successful but has faced some opposition. But my friends from the film industry, actors, directors, producers, the Nadigar Sangam, Film directors’ association, the South Indian film artistes association, state political leaders, national leaders, the media, my fans and friends have given a befitting reply to this opposition,” Vijay said in the statement.
Though Vijay has been issuing statements in his letterhead that states his name as C. Joseph Vijay, the timing assumed significance since BJP leader H. Raja referred to him with his Christian name and even tweeted his photo electoral identity card.
“Mersal is doing good at the box office after it was released for Diwali,” Vijay said. Vijay’s statement came a day after Tamil Nadu BJP chief Tamilisai Soundararajan, who was the first to demand deletion of dialogues relating to GST and Digital India, said she would like to treat the subject as “closed chapter.”
The film’s references to GST and Digital India evoked national response and BJP’s opposition to the dialogues evoked sharp response from national leaders like Rahul Gandhi who called it an “assault on Tamil culture.” Actor Kamal Hassan, an ardent critic of the BJP, termed the party’s demands as “re-censorship,” while DMK’s M K Stalin and Congress’ P Chidambaram also came in support of Vijay and his film.
