Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan were also a part of the silent protest called by the Tamil film industry on Sunday (8 April) aimed at expressing support to the demand of constituting the Cauvery Management Board and the closure of the Sterlite plant in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu.
The protest, called by the three most powerful film bodies in Tamil Nadu — Tamil Film Producers' Council, the South Indian Artistes' Association or Nadigar Sangam and the Film Employees' Federation of South India (FEFSI) — began at 10am in Valluvar Kottam and came to a close at 1.00pm.
Actors Sathyaraj, Vishal, Dhanush, SJ Surya, Vijay, Sivakarthikeyan, Vimal, Suriya, R Parthiban, Sivakumar, Vikram, lyricist Vairamuthu Ramaswamy, music composer Ilaiyaraaja and actress Dhansika also participated in the protest.
Complaint filed against Ilaiyaraaja for hurting sentiments of Christians
FEFSI president RK Selvamani informed that four resolutions were adopted at the protest, including, a resolution urging the government not to do anything that affected the basic necessities of pople. Two other important resolutions adopted at the rally pertained to the constitution of the Cauvery Management Board and the closure of the Sterlite copper plant.
Actor Vishal, who is the secretary of the Nadigar Sangam, said that these resolutions had been made into a petition which had been signed by 2,000 people. "We intend to get signatures of 30,000 people and submit it to the governor," he added.
The protests ended with slogans being raised on the need for the government to pay attention to the voice of the people.