Jai Bhim: Police book PMK’s Palanisamy for issuing 'threat' statement against actor Suriya

Days after the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) Mayiladuthurai District Secretary 'Sithamalli' A Palanisamy declared a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh for 'kicking' actor Suriya over the controversial depiction of his critically and commercially successful legal drama movie Jai Bhim, Police have booked Palanisamy under stern sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) members have opposed the film for allegedly defaming the Vanniyar community.

The PMK activist has been booked under several IPC Sections including 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and conducting acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) among other non-bailable sections.

PMK stops screening of Jai Bhim, member issues threat statement

The Jai Bhim controversy took a massive leap when a group of the PMK members stopped the screening of the film, featuring Suriya, at a theatre in Mayiladuthurai. According to several media reports, the members allegedly stormed into the theatre manager's room after which the management had to stop the screening.

PMK's Mayiladuthurai district secretary A Palanisamy had issued a statement to media persons in which he threatened to step all the movies featuring Suriya and even announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh to anybody who 'kicks' the actor when he visits the district.

On the other hand, the State President of the Vanniyar Sangam had sent a legal notice to the makers of the Jai Bhim movie and Amazon Prime Video, seeking an apology and demanding the removal of scenes from the movie that defamed the Vanniyar community. The Vanniyar Sangam, which is a caste grouping for the Vanniya Kula Kshatriyas is an intermediary and dominant caste segment in the Tamil ethnicity, allegedly the film of 'hurting' their sentiments.

Security deployed at Suriya's house amid Jai Bhim controversy 

Owing to the controversy, security has been beefed up outside the actor’s house. According to local media reports, the actor is being provided with special police protection at his residence in the wake of the ongoing hurt sentiments crusade conducted by the Vanniyar Sangam over his movie Jai Bhim. As many as five armed policemen have been deployed for the security check outside his house.

What is Jai Bhim movie about?

Released on November 2, the Suriya starrer legal drama titled Jai Bhim follows the story of a tribal couple - Senggeni and Rajakannu - and the injustice that the wife has to face when the husband goes missing from the police custody after being arrested on false allegations. The wife seeks help from lawyer Chandru who swears to bring justice to the duo. 

The movie is based on real-life events. It is back by Suriya's production firm, 2D Entertainment. It also featured Prakash Raj, Rao Ramesh, Rajisha Vijayan, and Lijo Mol Jose in pivotal roles. The film premiered in India and across 240 countries on November 2 in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi. 

Image: PTI/MRRATHNA/TWITTER