Leaders of Tamil nationalist parties and outfits, who watched a special show of actor John Abraham-starrer Madras Cafe on Sunday, termed it “nauseatingly anti-Tamil” and said they won’t allow its screening anywhere in the country. The movie had run into trouble a few weeks ago after its stills were published in the media.
Tamil nationalist groups such as Naam Tamizhar Katchi charged that it attempted to portray the LTTE and its leader V Prabhakaran in bad light and warned of protests. Following this, the producers agreed to hold a special screening for the groups.
Emerging from the special show at Wallajah Road, director Seeman said the film’s script looked like one sponsored by the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha elections to reopen the wounds of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination.
“The aim of the movie is to portray Prabhakaran as the villain. We can’t accept the film in any form. The heart of it is anti-Tamil,” he said.
Sources who watched the special screening, reportedly a Tamil-dubbed version, told Express that the story revolved around the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi and the events leading up to it.
John Abraham plays the role of a Malayalee Research and Analysis Wing officer who tries to uncover the plot to kill Rajiv.