Upcoming Dhanush movie Captain Miller has courted controversy over allegations of not seeking required permission from the forest and the public works department for shooting. Residents of Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) have also alleged to TNIE that they are being denied access to the tracts of government land that they have traditionally been using for cattle grazing. According to the report in TNIE from April 25, the filmmakers have employed private security guards to keep residents of nearby villages away.
Residents have also alleged that local wildlife such as sambar deer, which are often seen in the area currently being used for shooting, have stopped visiting due to the high-intensity lights used on sets.
Following the allegations, the district Collector of Tenkasi, Durai Ravichandran, directed the film crew to stop the shooting. Speaking to TNIE, the Collector had said that the crew had obtained permission to shoot in Tirunelveli but were using the same permits to shoot in Tenkasi as well. Apart from denying people permission to use the land for cattle grazing, reports said that the crew constructed a wooden bridge across the Chenkulam canal at the KMTR which destroyed the banks of the water body. The crew had also shot a bomb blast scene near KMTR which further caused damage to the canal and its banks.
Captain Miller is directed by Arun Matheswaran and stars Dhanush, Priyanka Mohan, John Kokken, Nivedhithaa Sathish and others. Arun’s last film was Saani Kaayidham starring Dhanush’s elder brother, actor and filmmaker Selvaraghavan alongside Keerthy Suresh. Dhanush was previously seen in Vaathi/Sir, a Telugu-Tamil bilingual movie directed by Venky Atluri. Viewers may look forward to seeing John Kokken on screen again after his performance in Sarpatta Parambarai as one of the antagonists, made him widely popular. He was also seen in Ajith-starrer Thunivu that released earlier this year.