CHENNAI: 'The Kerala Story' has been making headlines for over a week over its controversial story as the West Bengal government has banned it while theatre owners in Tamil Nadu decided to not screen the movie.
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the movie, BJP-ruled states Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh went ahead in support of the movie by announcing tax exemption for the film.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the ban was imposed to avoid any incident of hatred and violence and to maintain peace. She also described the movie as a distorted story. Chief Minister MK Stalin has not commented on the film so far.
In a plea filed in the Supreme Court, the makers of the movie alleged that the movie was facing a de facto ban in Tamil Nadu and sought protection for screening it.
A peep into the past shows that films with controversial themes are not new to Tamil Nadu. The state government had, in the past, banned many films following opposition from certain quarters.
Before independence too, certain films including Thyagabhoomi were banned in the erstwhile Madras state, since they supported Congress and the freedom struggle.
In 1987, Ore Oru Gramathile, a film that criticised the reservation system was banned by the state and later the Supreme Court allowed its screening.
Senior journalist GC Shekhar recalled how the Kamal Hassan-starrer Sandiyar was renamed as Virumandi following protests from Puthiya Thamizhagam leader K Krishnasamy who objected to the name.
Krishnasamy said Sandiyar means rogue, anti-social, and rowdy and said that most of the communal clashes in the southern districts were triggered by Sandiyars.
Krishnasamy also said the film focuses on the superiority of a particular community that would result in caste clashes in southern districts. He also said Kamal tried to glorify Sandiyars.
The name was changed after the intervention of then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
In 2013, Kamal's movie Viswaroopam was banned for 15 days by the Jayalalithaa government following opposition from Muslim organisations that the film portrayed Muslims as terrorists.
Haasan held talks with Muslim outfits and agreed to cut a few scenes and muted certain portions. After this, the Tamil Nadu government withdrew its ban on the film. At one point, Haasan said he was looking for a secular place to live in any other state or country overseas.
Kuttrapathirikai, a film directed by RK Selvamani, was released after 15 years of its making.
The making of the movie started in 1991 and was released in 2007 as the Censor Board refused to allow a film made in the backdrop of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict.
In 2013, the film Madras Cafe faced opposition from many political parties alleging that the movie denigrated the LTTE and its leader V Prabhakaran. In the face of looming threats, theatre owners decided not to screen the movie.
It may be recalled that after the AIADMK government banned the controversial film 'Dam 999' at the height of the Mullaiperiyar Dam row with Kerala. Although the filmmakers moved the Supreme Court, the ban was upheld.
Film critic J Bismi recalled that though the films Da Vinci Code and Dam 999 were banned by the Tamil Nadu government, the moves did not create any sensation.
"But when Kamal Haasan's movies Sandiyar and Viswaroopam faced problems, people watched the developments keenly."
