Controversy around Sivakarthikeyan-Sai Pallavi starrer Amaran continues with activist and founder of the May 17 Movement Thirumurugan Gandhi calling the film “army propaganda” about Kashmir. Thirumurugan was responding to a press meet given by Amaran director Rajkumar Periyasamy following criticisms of Islamophobia and stereotypes of Kashmiri people.

At a press meet on November 11, responding to the growing outcry against the film, Rakumar, flanked by army personnel, said, “This is not a movie on my political views. I may have my own views, but I believe as a director I should not enforce my views through my characters. It is not possible to make a movie on the Indian Army without their approval. We have the necessary documents to show that they have approved.” He also said that Amaran had been screened for the Ministry of Defence and the Additional Directorate General of Public Information - Indian Army (ADGPI) in October, and had received their praise. 

Thirumurgan slammed Rajkumar in a statement saying, “We’re glad to hear you admit that you made the film as propaganda for the Indian Army. Our question is, why is it that you–who took the approval of the army–hid the truth by not asking the history of the place from Kashmiri people themselves? Did it not occur to you to tell the story of the place from the perspective of Kashmiris?”, Thirumurugan asked.

Amaran is a biopic on posthumous Ashok Chakra awardee Major Mukund Varadarajan from Chennai, who was killed in action in Kashmir’s Shopian district in 2014. Earlier this month, various Muslim organisations had protested against the film saying it is “thrusting anti-minority sentiments among the people, and it is not a complete biopic.” Further, they had alleged that Amaran had been made to sow hatred against Muslims.”

On November 8, Thirumurgan held a press conference condemning the representation of Kashmiris and for pointing out the film valourises war crimes such as killing an unarmed person.  

Many have also criticised the film’s appropriation of the ‘azaadi’ (freedom) slogan in Kashmir. Coined by those demanding Kashmiri independence and autonomy, the slogan was also commonly raised at recent protests against the Union government’s policies such as the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Amaran has a song track composed by the film’s music director GV Prakash and penned and performed by Arivu titled ‘Azadi’. The song however is dedicated to the Indian Army without reflecting an understanding of local politics and sentiments. 

In his statement, Thirumurgan further said, “Would you tell the story of Tamil Eelam from the perspective of Eelam Tamils or from that of the Sri Lankan Army? If you were making a movie on the Sterlite massacre, would you tell the side of the Thoothukudi people or the police? The movie is against the people of Kashmir just as a film made on anti-Hindi agitations would be against Tamils, if a film on it was made by a north Indian director, with the approval of Hindi-speaking authorities, instead of asking us our perspective.” 

He also criticised Amaran’s claims that “development” would come to Kashmir if elections were held properly in the time the film was set in. “Kashmiri people have been voting from 1953 to 2014 [the year the film is set in]. But the film shows that elections are only ever prevented in Kashmir. Sheikh Abdullah who was elected chief minister in 1953 was incarcerated for 13 years. Recently,  a chief minister [Mehbooba Mufti] who was elected in 2014 was incarcerated in 2019. It has happened repeatedly in history that their chief ministers have been jailed.” The activist further highlighted multiple records of alleged violence and power abuses in Kashmir by the army.