CHENNAI: Claiming a scheme by cigarette manufacturing companies to promote smoking among young boys, Pasumai Thaayagam, an NGO, has slammed actor Vijay for smoking in his recent film ‘Sarkar’.
R Arul, state secretary of Pasumai Thaayagam, stated that the smoking scenes featuring Vijay in the recent movie ‘Sarkar’ have been voluntarily inducted with an aim to promote smoking habits among the youth in general and small boys in particular.
“Around 12 lakh people in India have lost their lives every year due to smoking. Also, various researches have proved that small boys get addicted by watching smoking scenes in movies. Hence, cigarette manufacturers have taken efforts to promote the practice via cinema" he said adding that out of all 22 smoking scenes in the film, every scene has been placed as an advertisement for smoking practice.
Actor Vijay has many fans among youth and small boys. Hence, all the smoking scenes have been inducted in the film with an aim to promote it. Cigarette manufacturing firms have converted actor Vijay as an ambassador of death and it would be their conspiracy," he pointed out urging actors to stay away from smoking scenes and the state government to also take steps to check such scenes in films for ensuring ‘smoke-free movies’.
Meanwhile, PMK president, Dr S Ramadoss, who also started the NGO in 1995 to promote nature conservation, demanded that the Sarkar team, including the production house should take steps to remove such scenes from movie.