Filmmaker TJ Gnanavel has finally reacted to the ongoing controversy surrounding his latest release Jai Bhim and expressed regret for 'unintentionally hurting the sentiments of the Vanniyar community''.
In his statement that he has released on Twitter, Gnanavel said he took full responsibility for the controversy and pointed out that it’s unfair to target the lead actor Suriya, who plays the lawyer Chandru in the film.
Gnanavel said that his film is based on true events and that he wanted to portray the pain of the tribal community. He added that he didn’t anticipate some of the comments that the film had received.
அனைவருக்கும் வணக்கம்... pic.twitter.com/HfrGkSGwOh
— Gnanavel (@tjgnan) November 21, 2021
About the controversial calendar scene, Gnanavel said, "Our intention was not to represent any community through the shot of the calendar. It was only supposed to reflect the year 1995 in which the story is set. It was a shot that appeared for just a few seconds on screen and completely went unnoticed in the post-production."
Gnanavel added that even before the film was released on Amazon Prime, it was screened for a few people and said that if objections were raised about a particular shot, it would have been removed.
When the shot was identified after the movie was released on 1 November, it was changed the next morning. Gnanavel said he hoped everyone would understand the makers' intentions when they made the change.
Gnanavel added: “As a director, I take full responsibility for whatever has happened. It is unfair to hold Suriya responsible for the controversy. I apologize to him and everyone.”
Jai Bhim is a hard-hitting courtroom drama about caste-based discrimination.
The film features Prakash Raj, Rao Ramesh, Rajisha Vijayan and Lijo Mol Jose.