AIADMK Cadres Protest Outside Theatres Screening ‘Sarkar’

It was only yesterday when some politicians from AIADMK condemned certain scenes in Sarkar and demanded their removal, accusing actor Vijay of trying to further his political agenda through the film. Today, the cadres of the party have been protesting against the film outside theatres in various districts.

According to a news flash on Puthiyathalaimurai TV, several party workers were seen tearing down banners at Kasi theatre in Chennai. The protest also seems to have caused traffic disruptions along the Guindy-Koyambedu road.

Earlier, a report said that 2.30 pm shows at Madurai screens – Cine Priya, Suga Priya and Mini Priya – were cancelled due to the protests happening outside the theatre. However a notice on the gates of the theater complex said that the shows were then postponed to 4 pm.

Meanwhile, the protest which was held at Shanthi theater complex near the Coimbatore railway station turned violent when the protesters began tearing and damaging the posters and cut-outs in front of the theater. Following the incident, high security has been provided to seven theaters in Trichy which are screening the film.

On Wednesday, the Minister for Higher Education, KP Anbalagan, in an interview, said that the public will not heed the scenes in the film that show people trashing the electronic freebies given by the government. Further to his statement, R Kamaraj, Minister for Food declared that only the public have the right to refuse the freebies given by the government and the same cannot be espoused by “those who act for money”.

Also, a case has been filed against director AR Murugadoss in Chennai City Police Commissioner’s office under the section ‘treachery’ of the Indian Penal Code by petitioner Devarajan. The director has been accused of triggering violence against the state government.

Other voices of protest include Kadambur Raju, Minister for Information and Publicity, who said: “While there is no link between the censor board and the state government, we were made aware of the scenes and we will hold discussions with the Chief Minister on the further course of action. We will let the team remove the scenes themselves; if they don’t, we’ll then have to see what needs to be done.”

All this aside, yet another controversy involved the name of Varalaxmi Sarathkumar’s character in the film. In Sarkar, Varalaxmi plays Komalavalli, who counsels her politician father from Canada. An News7 report said that a group of people within the government had found the name objectionable as they had surmised it to be an indirect reference to former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, who was named Komalavalli at birth.

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Minister of Fisheries, D Jayakumar too, criticised the film for naming its female villain ‘Komalavalli’. He said: “Many have written stories about the subject and we are not blaming them. But our question is, why did they name the character Komalavalli when there are so many other names? It was done with an intention to malign and hurt.”

On the other hand, TTV Dhinakaran of AMAK party, declared that Komalavalli wasn’t Jayalalithaa’s birthname. Talking about it in an interview, he said: “Komalavalli is not Jayalalithaa’s name; she had told me so herself. She also said that none of her characters on screen were given that name. I haven’t watched the film yet, but if I find anything offensive about her, I will protest.”