During a recent award function, director AR Murugadoss revealed that his upcoming film with Superstar Rajinikanth will not be a political film.
Speaking at the sixth edition of Behindwoods Gold Medals, the ace director said, "My next film with Rajini sir will not be a political film, but it will be a mass entertainer, for sure, satisfying all types of audiences. I have been his fan for a very long time and it will be my dream project."
Murugadoss' previous film 'Sarkar', which hit the theatres on the occasion of Diwali, faced a lot of hurdles both prior and after its release.
Following the release, many AIADMK ministers and party cadres expressed their displeasure about certain scenes in the Vijay-starrer.
The party cadres even went on to protest outside various theatres in Tamil Nadu. Many of whom even indulged in damaging the banners and cutouts of Vijay which was placed outside cinema halls.
This eventually led the 'Sarkar' team to remove/mute a few scenes that were termed 'controversial'.
The trouble did not end there for AR Murugadoss as CCB went on to register an FIR against Murugadoss, following a complaint from one G Devarajan of Sembium.
On Friday, AR Murugadoss finally breathed a sigh of relief after the Madras High Court stayed all further proceedings on a complaint against the director, pending before the Central Crime Branch (CCB).
Justice N Anand Venkatesan, who granted the stay while passing interim orders on a petition from the AR Murugadoss on Friday, posted the matter after six weeks.
In his petition seeking to quash the proceedings, he submitted that no prima facie case was made out against him. In a free democracy, criticising the government policy was not an offence.
In fact, it was a fundamental right guaranteed to citizens under Article 19(1) (a).
Apart from the reasonable restrictions imposed under article 19(2), the right to freedom of expression, which are deemed to be projected as an objectionable wrong against a specific political party, will amount to a tyrannical rule, unjustifiable before the eyes of law.
Further, Section 5A of Cinematograph Act created a legal bar against any such prosecution.
It laid down that after granting of film certification under section 5A or 5B of the Act, the applicant of the film certification, producer and distributors were not liable for any punishment under any law in respect of any matter contained in the film. Also, the disputed scenes had already been removed.
So, no offence as claimed by the complainant was committed by him, he said.
(With inputs from ENS)