Even as the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday posted to September 3 the hearing of the PIl seeking a ban on the release of the John Abraham movie Madras Cafe in Tamil Nadu, various pro-lTTE elements in the State upped their ante demanding a ban on its release.
Stalin Baskaran, the petitioner who approached the High Court with a PIl challenging the release of the movie said he feared a major law and order problem in Tamil Nadu if Madras Cafe is allowed to release in the State in its present form.
The Regional Board of Film Certification informed the court that the Tamil version of the movie has not been certified and hence there is no possibility of its release in the State. But the Hindi version has been certified and faces no legal hurdles, the court was told.
Tamil activists like Francis Ceeman alleged that the film has portrayed Tamils in poor light. The movie centres on the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi by the lTTE terrorists while in an election tour to the State of Tamil Nadu on May 21, 1991. Abraham plays the role of a Research and Analysis Wing sleuth pursuing the assassins. Ceeman, himself a small time movie-maker charged that the slain lTTE chief V Prabhakaran has been portrayed as a terrorist chief in the movie.
Pro-lTTE groups also alleged that the movie has been financed by the Sri lankan Government as part of its global public relations exercise. Interestingly, the Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP scored over its rival Congress by demanding an outright ban of the film in the State. “It is a poor portrayal of Tamils in the name of freedom of expression. We fear a breakdown in law and order if the movie is released in the State. But we are surprised because of the silence of the Congress in such a sensitive issue. Why the party is afraid to come out with its reaction to such a sensitive issue,” asked BJP State chief Pon Radhakrishnan.
But Subramanian Swamy, who recently merged his Janata Party with the BJP, asked the CM to crack down on trouble-makers who have threatened of a law and order problem if Madras Cafe was exhibited in the State. “The TN Government should arrest these trouble-makers under National Security Act or Unlawful Act or Goondas Act. If the CM fails to ensure law and order, then the Prime Minister must send her a warning under Article 256 of the Constitution,” Swamy said in a statement.