AIADMK up in arms against actor Vijay's 'Sarkar' over reference to Jayalalithaa

Senior AIADMK ministers demanded that the contentious scenes be deleted, and threatened to initiate legal action if the latter failed to comply.

Senior AIADMK leader and Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar wanted to know why certain references deemed to be that to the late Jayalalithaa had found their way into the script.

Law Minister C Ve Shanmugham said certain scenes amounted to inciting violence and warned of action.

"The scenes relating to burning of government welfare amount to inciting of violence. Whether it is the producer (Sun Pictures) or the actor (Vijay), or theatres-- they will have to face action," he told reporters.

Reports suggested that certain scenes show grinder, mixers and fans being put to fire, seen as an obvious reference to the late J Jayalalithaa's flagship schemes of providing these items free of cost, in line with an electoral promise in 2011.

AIADMK workers staged a protest outside a theatre in Madurai demanding certain scenes be removed.

Jayakumar said it was an attempt at maligning the former party supremo.

"Why unnecessarily make such references. It shows vendetta and an attempt at maligning (her)," he said.

He also wondered if the filmmakers could have come up with such a flick when Jayalalithaa was alive and said her death has "emboldened" them.

"If they (Vijay) had spelt out their policies, ideology and if the movie is reflective of that, it is fine. But in order to project themselves, to trample over others'

sentiments and hurting them, that is not acceptable," he said and called for legal action against the crew.

Referring to the films of matinee idol and AIADMK founder, the late chief minister MG Ramachandran, Jayakumar said the former's films never carried such content.

In an apparent reference to Ramachandran's elevation from a cinema star to a chief minister of the state later, he said "not all can become MGR."

Lashing out at Vijay, Information Minister Kadambur C Raju said, "This is not good for a growing actor like Vijay."

"The matter has come to the government's notice. We will advise them to remove the scenes. If they do it themselves its fine, otherwise, we will decide the next course of action," he said.

'Sarkar,' produced by Sun Pictures stars Vijay, Keerthi Suresh, Radharavi, Varalakshmi Sarathkumar and is directed by AR Murugadoss and has music by Oscar winner AR Rahman.

The film had earlier courted a pre-release controversy over plagiarism.

An aspiring filmmaker claimed that the story of the film was his, following which Murugadsoss went in for a compromise with the claimant.

Incidentally, Vijay's earlier flick 'Mersal' had the BJP cry foul over certain "incorrect" references to the Goods and Services Tax (GST).