AR Murugadoss was asked to promise that he will not criticise Tamil Nadu state government's policies in his films in the future by the public prosecutor in Madras high court on Tuesday (27 November). The director has been asked to present his case after the depiction of government policy in his latest Tamil film, Sarkar, resulted in several All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) cadres taking to violence as protest.
The state public prosecutor demanded that the director should be denied an anticipatory bail unless he gave an undertaking of not criticising government policies in his film.
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Speaking to Thenewsminute.com, Murugadoss's representative, advocate Vivek Ratnam said, "I immediately pointed out that their public prosecutor needs to establish what offence my client committed in order for him to apologise. If an offense is proven, he is ready to apologise. And second, it is against the fundamental right of speech and expression of my client for the government to dictate what can and cannot be shown in his film regarding their policies."
However, the court directed Ratnam to offer Murugadoss the option of the undertaking. However, Murugadoss has denied any chance of him apologising or giving such an undertaking.
Actor Kamal Haasan took to Twitter to support Murugadoss's stance saying, 'This is not democracy'.
Murugadoss's Sarkar, featuring Vijay, Keerthi Suresh and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, released on 6 November. However, immediately the film faced a backlash from AIADMK cadres, who resorted to violence in certain areas of Tamil Nadu. Murugadoss has also stated that he received several threats from AIADMK members. Things reached a head when the director's residence was visited by the Tamil Nadu police. However, Murugadoss applied for anticipatory bail, taking things to court.
The court had adjourned the plea to 27 November, directing the police to not arrest Murugadoss before the hearing takes place.
Sarkar is currently the highest grossing Tamil film of the year.