Protests against Vijay Deverakonda’s Kingdom over portrayal of Sri Lankan Tamils

Vijay Deverakonda-starrer ‘Kingdom’ faced protests in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai and Trichy while pro-Tamil netas condemned the portrayal of Sri Lankan Tamils in a poor light. Cadres from Naam Thamizhar Katchi (NTK), a pro-Tamil party, held a protest outside theatres in Trichy demanding a ban on the film’s screening.

“The movie demeans LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) fighters and Eezham Tamils. They fought for 30 years and died but are shown as enslaved people living in the mountain areas. This is an attempt to twist historical facts and we can’t allow it. They have not had justice until now and many are still missing. 

Naam Thamizhar Katchi can’t do such acts of hurting them,” stated Saravanan, State Propaganda Secretary.

Protesters also met with a prominent theatre manager in the district, after which the banners of ‘Kingdom’ were removed. They left the premises only after assurance was given that discussion would be held with distributors about halting the screening.

Meanwhile, distributors of the movie in Tamil Nadu have approached Madras High Court seeking police protection.

Directed by Gowtam Tinnanuri, ‘Kingdom’ is a Telugu film featuring Vijay Deverakonda, Satyadev and Venkitesh in the lead roles. The film, set in Sri Lanka, follows the story of a cop-turned-spy, who eventually becomes the saviour of the tribe of Divi. The film was dubbed in Tamil, Malayalam and other languages and hit theatres on July 31.

While it received a solid opening in theatres, ‘Kingdom’ saw a gradual decline in numbers at the box office. The film was also criticised for its screenplay and lack of high moments.

Source: India Today
--Agencies