Sivakarthikeyan-Sai Pallavi starrer Amaran has landed in a fresh controversy, with many Muslim leaders accusing the film of propagating Islamophobia. Directed by Rajkumar Periyasamy, Amaran is based on the life of Major Mukund Varadarajan from Tamil Nadu, who was killed in action in Kashmir’s Shopian district in 2014.
Over 150 members of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) protested on November 7 outside the offices of Kamal Haasan—who produced the film—in Chennai’s Alwarpet.
According to The Hindu, K Kareem, State secretary of the SDPI, said: “ Amaran is thrusting anti-minority sentiments among the people, and it is not a complete biopic. On the contrary, the film was made to sow hatred against Muslims. So, we strongly condemn it. Earlier, Kamal Haasan made Vishwaroopam (2013), which also had elements of hatred towards Muslims.”
Manithaneya Makkal Katchi founder-president MH Jawahirullah has also said that the film promotes divisive narratives and compared Amaran to controversial anti-Muslim films like The Kashmir Files (2022) and The Kerala Story (2023).
Further, many have 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 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 an understanding of local politics and sentiments.
Amaran, which was released in theatres on October 31, during the Deepavali festival, has largely received positive reviews. The state’s BJP leaders have appreciated the movie and Sivakarthikeyan for promoting ‘patriotism.’ Interestingly, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K Selvaperunthagai appealed to the State government to provide tax exemption for the film.
While other filmmakers have appreciated the film, Director Gopi Nainar of Aramm (2017) fame issued a strong statement on November 8 saying that audiences are so lost in the performances of Sivakarthikeyan and co-star Sai Pallavi—which he agrees are excellent—to the point that the trauma of real-life Kashmiri people is invisible to them. He added that the celebration of Amaran is akin to the murder of a child by a bullet. Instead of grieving the death of the child, people appear happy that the murderer was at least merciful in swiftly killing the child without causing much pain.
Ahead of Amaran’s release, in February this year, the Tamilaga Makkal Jananayaga Katchi (TMJK) had also similarly protested against the representation of Muslims based on the film’s promotional material.