Days after the release of controversial Marathi trailer of the bilingual Bollywood film Thackeray, Thol Thirumavalavan, President of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, has called for removal of the dialogues that have been slammed for hate speech against south Indians.
The film’s Marathi trailer shows Bal Thackeray (played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui) mouthing expletives against south Indians, giving a racist complexion to them. The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) too has raised its objection to these scenes, among others.
Speaking to Puthiya Thalaimurai, Thirumavalavan said that the film could affect the peace prevailing in Mumbai.
“We can see that the film has dialogues against Tamilians, Malayalees, and particularly south Indians. This will affect the peace there (in Maharashtra) at present. If this film were to release, once again, the mentality against Tamilians would be moulded. This film will also become a reason to sow hate politics among young Marathis. It has become known that the CBFC has called for the removal of these scenes. Under this circumstance, the Maharashtra government should not allow such scenes. The CBFC should remove these scenes,” he said.
The Marathi trailer, which posits a hagiographic portrayal of the former Shiv Sena chief, also shows a south Indian restaurant being attacked. However, despite outrage and objections from the CBFC, Shiv Sena MP and co-producer of the film, Sanjay Raut, had said that there would be no cuts in the film.
Thirumavalavan also pointed out that the dialogues in the film could make life unsafe for south Indians in Mumbai. “In Maharashtra and particularly in Dharavi, Mumbai, there are lakhs of people living for over 100 years. They began their lives as daily wage labourers and today they are in a position to get social status and have also improved financially. They are peacefully co-existing with people in the area who speak other languages. Under such circumstances, this will create an unsafe situation for them. It will create fear,” he said.
“The Tamil Nadu government also has a responsibility in this matter. The Tamil Nadu government should intervene and take steps to remove the scenes and dialogues against Tamilians and south Indians. I ask that the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu write to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra and make this request immediately,” he urged.