Police in Tamil Nadu’s Theni district detained 20 people who were staging protests in front of a theatre against the screening of Mari Selvaraj’s Maamannan, which was released on Thursday, June 29. According to reports, police protection was given to the theatre in Theni. The protesters reportedly belong to the Tamil Desiya Forward Bloc which supports the dominant Thevar community in Tamil Nadu. During the audio launch of Maamannan, director Mari Selvaraj had said that the film was inspired from Thevar Magan. He said that although Thevar Magan was a masterpiece, it made him feel distressed with its glorification of the feudal nature of the Thevar caste, and its problematic caste politics. After this speech, people began calling for a ban on the movie saying it might cause caste riots and violence, especially in the southern part of the state where there is a sizeable population of Thevars.
Even before Maamannan had been released, members from the All India Forward Bloc carried out a bike rally in Theni’s Cumbum and gathered in front of theatres and demanded that the movie should not be released. They further added that if the movie was released, there might be violence and anti-social activities.
The All India Forward Bloc was formed after a group of people broke off from the Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar’s Tamil Nadu Forward Bloc. Muthuramalinga Thevar is a popular leader in southern Tamil Nadu, especially among the Thevars, a dominant caste.
As the protestors from the Tamil Desiya Forward Bloc were being loaded into the police vehicle, slogans were raised condemning the police and the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). One of them claimed that the actions of the ruling party would result in caste riots.
To avoid any clashes or violence, police protection has been offered to three theatres in Thoothukudi as well. Balakrishna Theatre, KSS Theatre and Perison Plaza Multiplex began screening Maamannan at 9 am and invited a large number of moviegoers. In light of this, heavy police protection was allotted to these states, reports said.
A writ petition was also filed in the Madras High Court seeking a ban on Maamannan, saying it might create clashes between Thevars (a dominant caste) and Devendra Kula Vellalars (a lowered caste). The petition was filed by a Thevar man from Tirunelveli named Manikandan, who also demanded that the censorship certificate of the movie be revoked.
The petitioner claimed that after watching the trailer and the audio launch of Maamannan, he suspected that the film would induce “religious fanaticism” between Thevars and Devendra Kula Vellalars. Manikandan further alleged that the title ‘maamannan’ (emperor) belonged to Kathappa Pulithevan, a Thevar freedom fighter who lived in Tenkasi. He added that the Thevar community was “seriously affected” because the “historical moment was wrongly picturised.”
Watch: Mari Selvaraj interview on Maamannan | Thevar Magan | Vadivelu | Fahadh | Udhayanidhi