'Jai Bhim' director conveys regret, says he is solely responsible for the film
Chennai(PTI): Actor Suriya starrer flick 'Jai Bhim' director Tha Se Gnanavel on Sunday said there was absolutely no intention of hurting any particular community and expressed regret to those who were offended.
'Jai Bhim' that was released on November 1 in languages including Tamil and Telugu kicked up a row in Tamil Nadu with the Vanniyar Sangam and members of the community alleging that it had portrayed them in bad light. The movie was released in OTT platform Amazon-Prime Video.
Emphasising that there was not even a "wee little bit of thought to cause affront to any individual or a community," in the making of the film, Gnanavel said, "I convey my heartfelt regret to those offended and anguished." The film director also expressed regret for the difficulty caused to Suriya in the wake of the controversy, who is the lead actor and Jai Bhim producer. The crux of the row is the alleged vilification of the Vanniyar community by naming a wicked police sub inspector as 'Guru' (Gurumurthy) and showcasing the raging fire pot symbol of the community in a calendar, in the background, in one of the scenes and the foreground had the police SI who tortured the innocent tribal man to death. "I did not know that a calendar hung in the background will be understood as a reference to a community. It is not our intention to make it a symbol of reference to a particular community and it was only to reflect the period, the year 1995," Gnanavel claimed in a statement. During filming or post-production, the calendar footage, that appears for a few seconds did not catch their attention, he said. Also, even before the film premiered on Amazon Prime, it was exhibited for several people. "Had it come to our notice during that time, we would have changed it before its release." After they "got to know about the calendar in the background through social media," after its release, all efforts were made to change it on the following day morning itself, he said.
"As the calendar in the background was changed even before anyone demanded it, I believed that everyone will understand that we had no ulterior motive," the director said. "It is unfortunate to ask Suriya to own up responsibility. As the director, this is a matter I alone has to take responsibility." The film, though based on a true incident of custodial torture and death of a 'Koravar' tribal man in 1995 in Tamil Nadu it had elements of fiction. The flick portrayed the tribal man as belonging to the Irula tribes. The names of people connected to the real life incident, like that of Justice Chandru who had argued the case in the Madras High Court as an advocate were retained. Some names like that of Rajakannu's wife (original name Parvathi, changed to Sengenni) and the police sub inspector who tortured, leading to the death of the tribal man was changed from Anthonysamy to Guru (Gurumurthy). The calendar that was replaced had an image of Goddess Lakshmi. The Vanniyar Sangam had on November 15 sent a legal notice to makers 'Jai Bhim' alleging that the flick tarnished the reputation of Vanniyar community and sought an unconditional apology from them.
Removal of references to Vanniyar community's revered symbol of raging fire pot, an apology for "damning, tarnishing and damaging the reputation" of the community, desisting from similar "malicious" moves and payment of Rs 5 crore in damages were the demands made in that legal notice.
Vanniyars, or Vanniya Kula Kshatriyas, a Most Backward Community in Tamil Nadu are predominant in the northern districts of the state. The Vanniyar Sangam's symbol is also the raging fire pot.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
