The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) has issued a notice to the makers of Eeswaran, the Tamil film, to stop circulation of trailer and poster for using a computer-generated snake without prior No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Board. The film, directed by Susienthiran and starring Silambarasan (Simbu) as the lead, is expected to release for Pongal 2021.
According to a copy of the letter dated November 16 sent by AWBI, the trailer and poster has shown the snake as a medium of entertainment without prior permission. “...as a medium of entertainment without obtaining any pre shoot permission (PSP) or NOC from the Board in direct violation of the Performing Animals (Registration) Rules, 2001,” the letter said. The Board also directed the producers to stop circulation of the promotional materials immediately and submit a response to the notice within seven days of the notice.
According to reports, the producers ran into trouble with the state forest department after an activist filed a complaint of them using a snake in their film. Responding to this accusation, the producers released a statement, which said that the snake seen in the video is a plastic snake, which was made to move using computer graphics. The producers also said that the team was investigating as to how the video got leaked before it was made available to the public.
The film’s teaser was released in the wee hours on Deepavali day (November 14) and had glimpses of Simbu thriving as a villager. The 1.28-minute long teaser had visuals of Simbu and director Bharathiraja in a pivotal role. It also showed Simbu in action sequences set to folk music in the background, which reminded several fans of the actor of his earlier films like Kovil.
Produced by Madhav Media, the film’s cinematography has been handled by S Tirru and S Thaman has composed the music. Anthony is the editor of the flick.