As the row between Tamil Nadu BJP members and Mersal’s makers intensifies, H Raja, a BJP MLA, recently went on record to say that he watched the film online, implying that it was a pirated copy. Tamil Nadu Producers’ Council President Vishal was not happy about this, considering he has been voicing against piracy for the last few years.
Taking to social media, the actor called H Raja’s admission “totally insensitive and uncalled for”.
H Raja was on a news segment featured in Puthiya Thalamurai TV when he was asked if he had seen Mersal. He said yes, he had, having watched it online. Mersal, starring Vijay and directed by Atlee, released in the theatres last week.
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On Friday, the BJP leader, who is also a national secretary of the party, attributed communal motives to the movie’s dialogues in a tweet that referred to the lead actor’s rarely used Christian name while criticising “Joseph Vijay’s hate campaign against (Prime Minister) Modi.”
“Everyone has the right to criticise the BJP government on any medium. But the criticism should be based on facts,” Raja told The Indian Express. The BJP leader claimed that he was “trying to confirm” whether the producer Hema Rukmani of Thenandal Studios Ltd “may also be a Christian”.