‘Karnan’ makers promise to change year of riots in film after Udhayanidhi's intervention

DMK's youth wing leader and candidate from Chepauk on Tuesday, April 13, tweeted that after he raised objections, the makers of the film Karnan starring Dhanush had assured him that they will change the alleged discrepancy in the timeline of a crucial event in the plot concerning the sequence of a riot filmed in the movie. He also requested to the makers to delete misleading scenes fro the film.

Director Mari Selvaraj's Karnan is speculated to be loosely based on the Kodiyankulam caste riots of 1995 that triggered a massive controversy in the State. Following the film's release, several DMK sympathisers observed that the events depicted in the film actually occurred in 1995, however, the film portrayed the events to have taken place in 1997. 

A minor change, one might assume, but not for the State of Tamil Nadu, whose two prominent regional parties are clashing with each other in the 2021 State Assembly Elections. In 1995 when the riots took place, Tamil Nadu was still under AIADMK leadership, it wasn't until a year later, that the leadership changed and DMK was voted to power. DMK and Udhayanidhi Stalin would like to reiterate the significance of the date and event in light of the recent elections that's just concluded in the State.

Udhayanidhi Stalin, while appreciating the film through a series of tweet, heaped praise on actor Dhanush, director Mari Selvaraj and producer Kalaipuli S Thanu. Udhayanidhi tweeted: 'The film is based on the Kodiyankulam caste riots of 1995 when the AIADMK was in power, but it is shown as taking place in 1997 in the film. DMK was in power in 1997 and I have pointed this out to the producers and the director. They have assured me that this error will be corrected in a couple of days.'

DMK accepts special inquiry reports on 1995 police brutality

What's interesting to note is that after the DMK took power in 1996 and as M Karunanidhi took charge, he tabled the report of a judicial inquiry commission to probe incidents of caste-related violence in the two southern districts of Tirunelveli and Tuticorin. However, the commission after investigating the case for four years, concluded that the police firing in three places in the districts was "fully justified" and that there was "no excess" in the police action at the Kodiyankulam village on August 31, 1995.

The report drew severe flak from political parties representing Dalits in the State, who were the victims of the police outrage at Kodiyankulam, and from the Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Tamizhaga Rajiv Congress and the Dravidar Kazhagam

Controversy around Karnan

It must be noted that the film has been at the centre of controversies since production began in January 2020, after a brief delay due to pre-production and then the Covid-19 pandemic, according to sources. While several media reports then stated that the film was based on the Kodiyankulam riots, Mari Selvaraj was known to have categorically denied such reports in an interview with a local media house. He had apparently quipped that the film was not based on any real riots that took place in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu and any resemblance was merely coincidental. He stressed that the film was a work of fiction but that it might have some elements of truth to it.

In the film, the village in which the story is set is aptly called ‘Podiyankulam’, there are scenes that show instances of police brutality on villagers. The supposed distinct parallel between this portrayal and the violence that unfolded in Kodiyankulam (where the real riots took place) in Tirunelveli in 1995 seemed to have kicked off this new furore among DMK cadre.

What is the Kodiyankulam riots?

Between July and August 1995, around 600 police personnel reportedly entered Tirunelveli's Kodiyankulam village and terrorised the residents living there. It has been learned from sources who lived there during the time that in broad daylight, women, children and the elderly were all attacked, their food grains and drinking water sources destroyed. The attack was a result of tensions in the region between Thevar and Pallar (Devandra Kula Vallars) communities; the latter is a part of the Scheduled Castes in the region understood to have been oppressed by upper castes for a long time.