Rama Ravikumar, president of Hindu Tamilar Katchi, has filed a complaint with the Commissioner of Police in Chennai and Trichy seeking a ban on A1 or Accused No.1 saying that the teaser of the film hurts the sentiments of brahmins. He has demanded immediate action against actor Santhanam, writer-director Johnson and producer Raj Narayanan.
The second teaser of the film released yesterday, featuring Santhanam as a north Madras resident in love with a brahmin girl. The complaint said the teaser mocks brahmin practices and brahmin women and accused the makers of deliberately provoking enmity between caste groups.
It read, “The girl from agraharam is a maami who falls in love after eating half-boiled egg. Her father faints on seeing this. The hero protests against his family for his love. In the name of freedom of expression, scenes like these insult brahmins and degrade brahmin women. No one will dare say such things about any other community. We demand a ban on the film and strict legal action against the filmmakers and want the controversial scenes removed.”
Ravikumar told Silverscreen that the commissioner has agreed to act on his complaint and he will go to court if release announcements are made. “How did the CBFC certify the film for release? Will Santhanam dare speak about a Muslim woman or a woman from any other caste the same way? If there are any clashes, we will hold him responsible for it,” he said.
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The party has also sent letters to the Governor, Chief Minister, Chief Secretary, the DGP and the Censor Board office in Nungambakkam, and are awaiting replies. The filmmakers are yet to respond to this.
The film stars Santhanam and Tara Alisha Berry in the lead and is set in north Madras. The director has said in interviews that the film is a comedy, and is based on real-life characters he has met and lived with. The cinematography for the film is by Gopi Jagadeeswaran, music by Santhosh Narayanan, and editing by Leo John Paul. It is scheduled for release on July 27.
Watch the teaser here: