In a crucial intervention, Cuddalore Tahsildar A Balaraman bought matinee show tickets for members of the Narikuravar (classified as Scheduled Tribes) community after they were discriminated against at the New Cinema Theatre. According to The New Indian Express, the incident happened on Saturday, May 30, when 30 members of the Narikuravar community, including seven children, went to watch the film Garudan.
R Karthick, one among the group, told TNIE that they had reached the theatre at 8 am for the 11 am show but were asked to wait until the show time for the tickets. “Later, they said that the Rs 60 tickets were sold out and when we asked for the Rs 120 tickets, we got the same response. But we could see the tickets being sold at the box office while we were waiting at the entrance,” he added.
Unhappy with the bias meted out to them, the group went to the Cuddalore New Town police station and reported the incident. The police suggested that they approach the Revenue Divisional Office (RDO) and helped them draft a complaint. While waiting at RDO Abinaya’s office since she was out for work, the group presented their grievance to Tahsildar Balaraman who arrived there. He then took some of the adults and children to the theatre in his car while the others followed. He bought tickets for the group after issuing a strict warning to the theatre management.
Balaraman reportedly said that an inquiry is underway and has asked the RDO to issue a show-cause notice to the theatre.