Sarkar controversy: Mixer- grinder and Komala - things AIADMK wanted pruned from the movie

The Madras High Court has granted Sarkar’s director Murugadoss protection from arrest till November 27.

The makers of Tamil movie Sarkar have agreed to three changes, editing out parts that have angered the ruling AIADMK supporters over the alleged depiction of former chief minister Jayalalithaa and the schemes she had started.

AIADMK ministers and party cadres protest the release of actor Vijay's latest Tamil film "Sarkar"at cinema halls in Chennai on Nov. 9, 2018. (IANS)

Among the changes is the deletion of a scene showing an actor throwing a mixer-grinder into fire, according to the certificate issued by the Central Board of Film Certification. This scene did not go down well with the AIADMK workers as it was seen as an obvious reference to the late Jayalalithaa’s flagship schemes of providing these items free of cost, in line with an electoral promise in 2011.

Two words were muted, including the name Komala from the full name Komalavalli, which party workers thought was a reference to Jayalalithaa’s original name.

The publicist of the film Riaz K Ahmed had earlier confirmed that the makers did decide to delete the scenes and are awaiting a nod from the Censor Board before releasing the new version. “The distributors of different regions got together with the producers to make this decision and the re-censor is being done only because certain scenes have been changed.”

The AIADMK has been protesting since the Diwali release of the movie with senior ministers demanding deletion of the objectionable scenes, besides threatening to initiate legal action if the film crew failed to comply.

Tamil Nadu Law minister C.V. Shanmugam condemned the Vijay-starrer for allegedly attempting to instigate violence in society and also said that it is not less than a terrorist instigating people for violence.