On Friday, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Karnataka government, seeking its response to a petition requesting protection against threats targeting the screening of Kamal Haasan’s film ‘Thug Life’.
The makers of Kamal Haasan’s film accused the Karnataka government of failing to protect against threats to the film’s screening, following backlash over the actor’s controversial remarks about the Kannada language.
In their petition, they claimed no FIR had been registered despite the threats.
As per ANI, advocate A Velan said, “A fringe group issued threats of large-scale violence, including the burning of theatres and attacks against members of the Tamil linguistic minority residing in Karnataka. Despite these open and public threats, not a single FIR was registered, nor was any prosecution initiated by the State Government. On the contrary, the government appeared to adopt the position of the very fringe elements that issued those threats. We are aggrieved by this inaction and are now before the Supreme Court, seeking enforcement of this Court’s past directions…”
Advocate Navpreet Kaur added, “We approached the Supreme Court after fringe groups issued open threats on social media to burn down theatres screening ‘Thug Life’, targeting both cinema halls and the Tamil linguistic minority in Karnataka. Despite clear Supreme Court guidelines requiring immediate action against such hate speech, the State took no action — no FIRs were filed, and no protection was offered…. Instead, under pressure, the Karnataka Film Chamber advised theatres not to release the movie, resulting in a de facto ban. This is a serious law and order failure and a threat to constitutional rights… Recognising the urgency, the court has issued notice to the State, and the matter is listed for hearing next Tuesday.”
Given the urgency of the issue, a bench comprising Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Manmohan issued notices to the Karnataka government, State police, Raaj Kamal Films International Private Limited, and the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC), seeking their responses to the petition.
Meanwhile, ‘Thug Life’ marks the reunion of Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam after 37 years. The action thriller also features Silambarasan, Trisha Krishnan, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Abhirami, and Ashok Selvan in key roles.
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