Trouble continues to brew for actor Vijay. Adirindhi, the Telugu version of his latest film Mersal, which was scheduled to release on Friday has hit a roadblock with CBFC yet to issue the film certificate.
The latest trouble comes close on the heels of BJP leaders in Tamil Nadu demanding that scenes in Mersal that criticised the Centre’s policies such as GST and Digital India be removed.
Following CBFC’s decision to not issue the certificate, Thenandal Films, the producers announced that Adirindhi would not release on Friday. Aditi Ravindranath, the Executive Producer and Marketing Head at Thenandal Films tweeted to say that the film’s release would be updated.
#Adhirindhi not releasing tom. Will update on release date. @ThenandalFilms @nseplofficial
— Aditi Ravindranath (@aditi1231) October 26, 2017
Media reports suggest that the issue lies in muting scenes where references to GST and Digital India have been made. Negotiations are reportedly on between CBFC members and the producers to resolve the matter.
In response to the Mersal controversy, Thenandal Films had issued a statement last week announcing that they were ready to remove “any views in the film that can create misunderstanding.”
The producers of the film had met with senior BJP leaders and given an explanation on the contents of the scene. In their statement on Saturday, Thenandal Film had expressed gratitude to the BJP leaders and had stated, “Looking at it from their point of view, their opposition seems justified. If there are any views in the film that can create misunderstanding and these need to be removed, we are ready to do it.”
However, Hema Rukmani, the CEO at Thenandal Entertainement tweeted later to say that they would not remove or mute any of the scenes.
The BJP objected to two scenes in Mersal, which criticised its policies at the Centre. In one, Vijay’s character says that people in Singapore get free treatment although the country charges only 7% GST, whereas in India, people are charged 28% GST but still don’t get free treatment.
The other scene that BJP has taken offence to in Mersal, is one where someone tries to rob Vijay and Vadivelu’s characters in a foreign country. Vadivelu then opens his wallet and shows the thief that it’s empty - thanks to Digital India.
Several BJP leaders including state chief Tamilisai Soundrajan had opposed the scenes and demanded that they be muted or deleted. H Raja, another senior leader from the party, went further demanding that Vijay clarify his tax details. Putting a communal spin on the controversy, Raja even went to publish the star’s voter id and a letterhead that bore his full name “Joseph Vijay”, to suggest that he was targeting the BJP because of his religion.
The Tamil film industry and opposition leaders have rallied behind Vijay and the Mersal team, supporting their decision to not delete the controversial scenes.