Just a day after criticising Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) leader H Raja for watching the controversy-ridden movie Mersal online, Tamil movie star Vishal’s house is being raided by the GST Intelligence team.
The raids are being carried based on intelligence, said the GST officials. “Raids to check his past excise records since he is a film producer and distributor,” they said. They recall that they had also examined the office of Lyca Productions makers of Rajinikanth’s 2.0.
Vishal, who also heads the Tamil Film Producers Council (TFPC) and general secretary of the South Indian Artistes’ Association (SIAA) had accused Raja of “promoting piracy” and also demanded an apology from him.
However, Raja clarified that he had only watched clips of the movie on his mobile phone and said he did not have the patience to sit through a two-and-a-half hour film.
“Dear Mr H Raja, as a leader and prominent personality, you are advocating piracy and blatantly agreeing to it,” Vishal said in a statement.
The actor also said he wondered “how a political leader like you could watch a pirated version of a film (online)” and added that it “sets a bad example”.
This was “totally insensitive and uncalled for,” said Vishal, who is known for his strong anti-piracy stand and activities.
Vijay-starrer Mersal has been in the eye of a storm for a scene criticising the government’s economic policies. The production house, Sri Thenandal Films, had on Saturday decided to chop off the controversial bit.
BJP Tamil Nadu chief Tamilisai Soundararajan had earlier condemned the ‘misconceptions’ about central government’s schemes and Hindu religion projected in the Tamil film, and called for a removal of such representations.
“It’s their right to project any view but we have to condemn the misconceptions about GST (Goods and Services Tax), demonetisation and digital transaction and also about Hindu sentiments,” Soundararajan told ANI on Friday, adding that such views misdirect the public.
The BJP state president also stressed on the impact of celebrities’ words on general public.
The film’s journey so far has been marred in controversy. First, the film landed in a legal soup after a petitioner filed a case seeking an interim stay on Mersal’s release. Later, the film was asked to get a NOC from Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI).
Mersal, which released on Diwali, opened to fantastic response from the audience. According to box-office reports, the film has reportedly grossed Rs 70 crore in two days.
