A post by music director Yuvan Shankar Raja, who is also the younger son of the legendary Ilaiyaraaja, has triggered immense interest in both film and political circles. It comes amid a controversy over Ilaiyaraaja's recent statements likening Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the father of the Indian Constitution, Dr BR Ambedkar.
On Monday, Yuvan Shankar Raja posted a picture of himself, dressed in black on Instagram, and said, "Dark Dravidian. Proud Tamizhan." The post has gone viral and has also inspired many other Tamilians on social media to use the same caption while posting their photos, and has been posted along with photos of prominent Tamil leaders and celebrities.
Yuvan’s post comes at a time when BJP leaders have come out in support of Ilaiyaraaja. The celebrated music composer drew parallels between Dr Ambedkar and Modi in his foreword for the book, Ambedkar & Modi: Reformers Ideas, Performers Implementation. Ilaiyaraaja received flak from social media users for the comparison, with many upset over his equating the revolutionary leader and scholar with PM Modi. The criticism against Ilayaraaja, which has been coming since April 17, was that Modi cannot be compared to Ambedkar as the former is committed to Hindutva while the latter is a reformist leader who dedicated his entire life for the upliftment of the oppressed people.
BJP national president JP Nadda responded to the criticism against Ilaiyaraaja on Monday, April 19. In a letter, Nadda, in reference to Tamil Nadu and without naming Ilayaraja, says: "In Tamil Nadu, elements aligned to the ruling party in the state have left no stone unturned in verbally lynching, smearing and humiliating one of India's tallest music maestros just because he has views not palatable to one political party and their allies. Is this democratic? One can have different views and yet co-exist happily but why take to insults?"
Meanwhile in Tamil Nadu, the DMK government said no one from the party has expressed any opinion on Ilaiyarajaa’s comment on Modi. The party is also not inclined to spell out any view on the matter, said DMK MP RS Bharathi in a statement.
On BJP leader and Union Minister L Murugan's remark that Ilayaraja has the freedom of expression to praise Modi, the DMK said the minister should understand that others with a different viewpoint have the same right to make criticisms. The DMK warned Murugan to not drag the DMK into the issue.
Yuvan’s cryptic post is also being viewed as a response to Amit Shah’s comment that Hindi should be accepted as an alternative to English. Award-winning composer AR Rahman had posted an image of 'Thamizhanangu' (goddess Tamil), an artistic depiction of a white saree-clad woman, against a red backdrop. It was seen as a subtle reference to mother Tamil and opposition to imposition of Hindi.
(With agency inputs)