The makers of Udumban, a Tamil film which stars Chennai’s famous motorbike racer Dilip Roger, have decided to file a defamation suit against Selvaraj, a social activist from Chennai who has filed a case in the City Civil court, seeking a stay on the release of the film.
Selvaraj, in his petition, had claimed that the Udumban team had used real monitor lizards in the movie and had, in the process, tortured them.
As per Forest Department rules, monitor lizards have been declared an endangered species and having one is an offence. Udumban, which was to release on February 10, can now be released only after the hearing on the case which is to take place on Feb 16. Meanwhile, sources say that producer S Jeganadhan, who claims to have started the shoot only after taking the necessary permission from the Forest Department, has decided to file a `1 crore defamation suit against Selvaraj. Udumban is directed by Ramjii S Balan.