Tamil Nadu’s MDMK party on Monday sought a ban on the movie Madras Cafe, slated for release this Friday.
The film, starring John Abraham and Nargis Fakhri and directed by Shoojit Sircar, is set against the backdrop of the Sri Lankan civil war which continued for 27 years.
Saying that the film is anti-Tamil, MDMK founder Vaiko threatened to launch agitations in the state and elsewhere in the country if the film hit the screens.
“The film is a malicious and vicious design of the Sri Lankan and UPA governments to denigrate LTTE at a time when there is a rising awareness about the genocide of Tamils by the Sri Lankan armed forces,” Vaiko said.
The film was shown to select activists of pro-Tamil outfits on Sunday in Chennai, after they demanded a screening before the release as they suspected it showed LTTE in bad light.
Set in the late 80s and early 90s in India and Sri Lanka, Madras Cafe traces the political and military histories of the neighbours and covers the R&AW and Lankan rebel group LTTE’s activities through the eye of an agent, played by Abraham, who has also produced the movie.
Vaiko claimed that ahead of the Commonwealth meeting in Colombo, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa is trying to build a positive image and this movie is a platform for it.
“The Rajapaksa government, which is in the dock for genocide, and the Indian government are taking all out efforts to do a cover-up. In the proposed Commonwealth meeting, Rajapaksa will be crowned as the head.”
The movie shows the Indian Peace Keeping Officers (IPKF) as victims. Vaiko questioned this. “Many Tamil women were raped and killed by IPKF.
John Abraham and his team are pouring acid on old wounds. The Madras Café title itself points to some conspiracy being hatched in a café in Madras,” he said.
The movie is set to be released in 50 theatres across Tamil Nadu. Vaiko has appealed to the theatre owners not to screen the movie.
He claimed he is not against freedom of expression but is against hurting the sentiments of Tamils. Theatre owners are yet to come out with any statement on the release of the movie.
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