Maanaadu, the recently released Tamil film starring Silambarasan TR, has been accused of creating communal differences by the minority wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Syed Ibrahim, National Secretary of BJP’s Minority Morcha, has alleged that the film will lead to differences between Hindus and Muslims.
Written and directed by filmmaker Venkat Prabhu, Maanaadu, which released in theatres on Thursday, has been widely appreciated for incorporating a time-loop concept in a political thriller. The film also features director-turned-actor SJ Suryah as the antagonist, a police officer named Dhanushkodi, as well as Kalyani Priyadarshan, Daniel Annie Pope, YG Mahendran, SA Chandrasekhar, Karunakaran, and Premji in supporting roles.
Silambarasan plays Abdul Khaliq, a Muslim man who finds himself trapped in a time loop, which gives him the chance to change the events surrounding a political convention and prevent an orchestrated Hindu-Muslim riot. The film is primarily set in Coimbatore, which is incidentally the place where bomb blasts happened in the late 90s, leading to communal riots between Hindus and Muslims.
Maanaadu, which deals with Islamaphobia, also has references to the demolition of the Babri Masjid.
Addressing the media recently, Ibrahim said that just as the recently released Jai Bhim showed the police torturing the marginalised and stirred up controversy, Maanaadu too “puts forth disturbing ideas by showing the police department in a poor light. They are shown as devices used to create terrorists.”
He further added, “About 20 years after the Coimbatore blasts, and when there is harmony between Hindus and Muslims, the film has shown the same place as one where a riot takes place. That too one which is planned by the police. At a time when Islamic youngsters in Coimbatore are coaxed by certain outfits to go against the police, and attacks are caused on Muslims, the film shows police as against Muslims and creators of terrorists. People who see this will think that what these outfits are saying is true.”
Ibrahim also pointed out that the film shows saffron-clad people as violators and “rowdies” and ones with beards and caps as extremists. He said by doing so, the film “insults religious identities.”
He appealed to the Tamil Nadu chief minister to intervene in the issue and requested either a ban of such films or a removal of the “controversial scenes.” He further noted that if this is not done, protests will be undertaken in front of Silambarasan and Venkat Prabhu’s houses by BJP’s minority wing.
The makers of Maanaadu have not commented on the issue.
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However, BJP’s Tamil Nadu President K Annamalai issued a statement issued requesting party members to refrain from unnecessarily criticising fictional films. He noted that while it was not wrong to point out inaccuracies in films based on historical events, it was best to avoid raising objections to purely fictitious films that are a product of the filmmaker’s imagination.
Meanwhile, Maanaadu has collected Rs 22 crore in Tamil Nadu in its first three days, as per producer Suresh Kamatchi. Even as the team has been celebrating this, several video clips from the movie have been shared online. Venkat Prabhu, while expressing gratitude for the film’s success, also requested movie-goers not to record and share scenes on social media.