New Delhi: Actor Vijay Deverakonda’s latest film Kingdom has sparked a wave of protests and outrage in parts of Tamil Nadu over its portrayal of Sri Lankan Tamils. Members of the pro-Tamil party, Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), staged demonstrations outside theatres in Madurai, Ramanathapuram, and Tiruchirappalli demanding that the movie be banned.
“The portrayal in the film that Eelam Tamils oppressed Hill Country Tamils is a gross historical distortion and a serious act of deception. Depicting something that never happened as if it were fact — and portraying Eelam Tamils in such a derogatory manner — is completely unacceptable,” said NTK chief co-ordinator Senthamizhan Seeman in a statement on 4 August.
Directed by Gowtam Tinnanuri, the Telugu film Kingdom is set in the 1990s in Sri Lanka, and revolves around cop-turned-spy Soori (Deverakonda), who eventually becomes the saviour of the tribe of Divi. The film was released on 31 July.
NTK has also raised objections to naming the villain as Murugan, which is the name of a Tamil deity.
“Any depiction that insults the greatness of our national leader Hon. Velupillai Prabhakaran, our sacred martyrs of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, our valiant liberation struggle, and our umbilical kin — the Eelam Tamils — will never be tolerated,” said Seeman in his statement.
‘Don’t touch the subject’
The protests have continued in Tamil Nadu, even as the makers of the movie, Sithara Entertainments, released a clarification.
“We hereby confirm that we respect the sentiments of the Tamil people, and we promise that there are no such scenes which are involved in the movie that resemble hurting the sentiments of the local state people,” said Sithara Entertainments. The statement went on to clarify that Kingdom is a fictional account.
But NTK is not ready to back down.
“All the movies say that the characters in their movies are imaginary and not intended to hurt anyone. But the damage is done. They shouldn’t have even touched this subject with half-baked knowledge of Sri Lankan Tamils,” Idumbavanam Karthi, Youth Wing co-ordinator of NTK, told ThePrint.
Protesters also climbed up the roof of Jagan Theatre in Ramanathapuram and ripped the film poster. The situation escalated when police intervened to disperse the crowd, leading to a confrontation between law enforcement and demonstrators.
“We are not against all the movies produced by the company. We are just against this one movie, and we are democratically showing our opposition to the movie,” said Karthi.
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Judicial steps for protection
With protests and a halt in screenings, SSI Production, which has the Tamil Nadu theatrical rights for the movie, approached the Madras High Court seeking police protection to enable peaceful and uninterrupted viewing of the movie. The matter was heard by Justice Bharatha Chakravarthy.
“If they (NTK) are offended, they have the right to express dissent. At the same time, they cannot go and prevent screening. They can take judicial steps to cancel the certification. Everything is permitted in a democracy,” Chakravarthy said, as per a Live Law report.
The case has now been adjourned to 7 August.