CHENNAI: A video of two Sun TV VJs taking potshots at Suriya’s physical appearance has gone viral and invoked the wrath of the actor’s fans and film personalities alike. The female VJs, while discussing Suriya and KV Anand’s upcoming film on their show titled Franka Sollatta, ridiculed the actor’s height, after suggesting that the makers may rope in Amitabh Bachchan for a role.
Over the last day, the issue has steadily grown, with comments on Facebook and Twitter pouring in, in support of the actor. The VJs have come for some scathing attacks online, with some threatening them with physical harm.
Popular personalities who have expressed their outrage, include Vishal, the general secretary of the Nadigar Sangam who tweeted, “Funny? Absolutely not. How unethical in the name of sense of humour. Totally senseless.”
Meanwhile, some pointed out the irony of such body-shaming having been made socially acceptable by the film industry in the first place.
Suriya himself has now reacted to this outrage with a tweet, urging his fans not to respond to such tasteless comments and lower their standards. He added that fans could better expend their time in more productive pursuits, and ended the message with the hashtag, ‘anbanafans.’ Interestingly, comments from the fans, to a large extent, have been misogynistic.
Nadigar Sangam has also come out with a strongly worded notice to Sun TV pointing out that “an actor, like every other citizen has right to privacy, personal space, basic respect, decency and equal protection under law and that Sun Network should not have permitted the telecast of such defaming and disparaging content.” The notice also asked for “immediate response and stern action against the show hosts.”