CHENNAI: Music director Hiphop Tamizha Aadhi of Thani Oruvan fame, has come up with a music video titled Takkaru Takkaru, which strongly supports the controversial bull-taming ritual of Jallikattu in Tamil Nadu.
The viral video, which was uploaded on June 25, has already been viewed over 15 lakh times.
Aadhi tells CE, “Jallikattu is not just entertainment, it is the livelihood of a lot of people. The sport is not opposed by the State government. Even during the recent meeting with the Prime Minister, the Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa submitted a petition to lift the ban on jallikattu. As a responsible citizen, I am reflecting the voice of the thousands of villagers who don’t have proper access to social media. All they know is how to feed the world no matter what and it is the duty of every human being to support them.”
Ask him what made him to do this, Aadhi, from Coimbatore, says he has been inspired by many who dedicated their lives to rearing bulls. “For example, Senaapathy Kangayam Cattle Research Foundation has repeatedly supported this. I started meeting a lot of people, including villagers, listening to their stories. I did in-depth research for three months to understand what was exactly going on. I compiled it, wrote the script and shot the video in a week,” he explains.
Though it is a fictional story, the composer ends the film, which was shot in and around Madurai, with a commentary, which says, jallikattu is not just a sport, but a breeding science. PETA has issued a statement on his initiative, which says ‘inflicting pain to bulls isn’t Tamil culture’.
Quiz him on this and he responds, “If you watch the video, you’ll understand that the sport does no harm the animal. The bulls used in jallikattu are sporting breeds and raised with utmost care. After 2009, each bull that entered jallikattu had a number and the event was monitored by the district collector, SP, police officers and veterinarians. Anyone who causes injury to the animal is punishable by law and no such incident has been reported in the past.”
Aadhi surprises us when he asks why he should believe in an organisation that’s being run by foreigners telling him that jallikattu harms bulls.
“PETA has issued a statement saying it’s better off if I stick to music. Well, let me do that. But my question is — what does a foreign organisation do here? Why don’t they do all this there?”