Actor Suriya’s popular legal drama Jai Bhim is set to premiere on the Tamil television channel Kalaignar TV on Saturday, January 15, marking the festival of Pongal. The channel had posted a new poster to share the announcement and announced that it will be airing at 6.30 pm on Saturday.
Helmed by director TJ Gnanavel, the film also stars actors Prakash Raj, Rajisha Vijayan, Manikandan, Lijo Mol Jose and Rao Ramesh, among others, in significant roles. The intriguing legal drama is based on a pro-bono legal case fought by retired Madras High Court Judge Justice K Chandru when he was an advocate in 1993. He had disposed of more than 96,000 cases and is also popular for his landmark judgements. Jai Bhim premiered on Over-the-Top (OTT) platform Amazon Prime Video ahead of Deepavali in November last year. The film opened to positive responses from critics and fans alike.
Bankrolled by Suriya and Jyotika’s 2D Entertainment, Jai Bhim was part of a four-film deal signed by the production banner and streaming platform Amazon Prime Video. However, it became embroiled in controversy after a legal notice was sent to the Jai Bhim team by the Vanniyar Sangam state president, alleging that some of the scenes show the community in a poor light. They demanded an unconditional apology and that the scenes in question be removed. Anbumani Ramadoss of the Pattali Makkal Katchi, which represents the interests of the Vanniyar community, had also issued a letter on social media, claiming that Jai Bhim had scenes that were placed as a part of planned attack on the community. Responding to these claims, Suriya released a statement in November that the makers of the film did not have any intention to hurt any individual or a particular community.
Earlier, director Shankar had heaped praises on the makers of Jai Bhim. “#JaiBhim A Voice for the Voiceless. Director’s detailing &realistic approach was nerve-racking &commendable. Beyond the film & his impactful acting, @Suriya_offl‘s compassion towards society is really laudable. It’s been proven again,that powerful films can bring enormous change,” he had tweeted on December 10 last year.
Watch #JaiBhim Today @ 6.30PM#KalaignarTV #JaiBhimonKalaignarTV #Suriya #RajishaVijayan #PrakashRaj #Manikandan #LijomolJose pic.twitter.com/zOonyqjcbL
— Kalaignar TV (@kalaignartv_off) January 15, 2022