Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Monday showered praise on actor Suriya’s upcoming courtroom drama ‘Jai Bhim’, which releases on November 2, saying that the film had been occupying his thoughts all night long and that it had made his heart heavy.
In a letter to the crew of the film, Stalin said, “I watched ‘Jai Bhim’ yesterday. Thoughts about the film made my heart heavy all night long. The lives of Irulars living on the fringes of society and the difficulties that they face couldn’t have been more artistically and precisely picturised.”
“Although the screenplay has been woven around one incident, the impact it has on viewers’ hearts is quite heavy. Sometimes, some mistakes committed by some police officials tarnish the reputation of the entire department. At the same time, you have showed that it was another police official who was instrumental in bringing out the truth. You have shown that truth is established by straightforward and conscientious police officers,” he said.
Stalin pointed out that apart from this, the film also goes to show that any kind of injustice could be set right through law and justice. If both parties — a lawyer (Chandru) and a police official (IG Perumalsamy) — set their minds to it, they could prevent societal disorderliness.
“My friend Suriya has portrayed the character of a lawyer who is silent and at the same time, intense very efficiently. In fact, he has lived the part of Chandru. Suriya deserves three congratulations – one each for selecting such a story, making it into a movie and for acting in it,” the Chief Minister said.
Stalin also congratulated the director of the film, Tha. Se. Gnanavel, and the entire film unit, saying that he wished more such films were made.
The Chief Minister also said that he was touched by Suriya’s gesture of not just stopping at making a movie on Irulars, thinking that he had done his duty but going on to donate a sum of Rs 1 crore to the Pazhangudi Irular Trust for the welfare of Irulars. “This is an attempt to light a lamp (and dispel the darkness) in their lives,” he said.
Stalin also said that he happened to meet retired High Court judge Justice Chandru when he had gone to watch the film.
“He handed to me a report filed by the Justice Ismail Commission. It was a report filed by the Inquiry Commission on the manner in which we had been arrested under MISA. An attack similar to the one that was unleashed in a police station was unleashed on me in the Central Jail on the night of February 2, 1976. Respected Chitti Babu sir bore many of the blows that were meant for me. As a result, he lost his life. Chitti Babu sir has written about all the torture that we underwent as a ‘prison diary’. All these thoughts came rushing to my mind when we came out after watching ‘Jai Bhim’,” Stalin said and thanked the unit for making an impactful film.
