Vijay-starrer Mersal has kicked up a storm in Tamil Nadu due to controversial scenes that take a jibe at the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Digital India. There is also a scene which criticises the government for not being able to provide good health care services. This, obviously, hasn't gone down well with the BJP. State party president Tamilisai Soundararajan has demanded that the sequences be removed from the film as they create a wrong impression about the government's policies.
Things turned worse on Friday as a war of words began between politicians and the film fraternity, setting off #MersalVsModi on social media. BJP national secretary H. Raja, in a tweet, hinted at Vijay's Christian origin as the reason for him criticising the government. He also said he is trying to find out the religion of producer Hema Rukmani of Thenandal Studios. If reports are to be believed, the producers might axe the controversial scenes.
The Mersal row reached new heights on Saturday with actors like Kamal Haasan coming out in support of Mersal, and leaders like P. Chidambaram and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi taking a dig at the BJP's intolerance. The DMK also put its weight behind Mersal. “BJP leaders constantly are under the impression that this is North Korea, where every scene of every movie must have the approval of (the) Supreme Leader! That is why they have no understanding of free speech,” said DMK spokesperson Manu Sundaram.
As comments and tweets flew hither thither, not many could figure out what exactly was going on. Here's a quick look at who said what about Mersal.
