Chennai: “Why is the State government so intolerant about a criticism made on it in a film?” questioned the Madras High Court today.
Hearing a petition filed against Vijay-AR Murugadoss’ ‘Sarkar’, the Judges observed every citizen has the right to speak about the policies of the government.
AIADMK workers staged protests alleging that the film criticises the welfare schemes introduced by former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
Owing to threats, Murugadoss’s lawyer filed for anticipatory bail at the Madras High Court in November. Initially, the court was slated to hear the petition on 4 January.
Later, the adjournment date was subsequently changed to 20 December upon the request of petitioner’s counsel, who wanted a short adjournment time.
The court also stated that AR Murugadoss should not be arrested till then. Early this week, an FIR was filed against Murugadoss and claimed that the director mocked the Tamilnadu government in his film.
In Vijay-starrer ‘Sarkar’, the director appears in a cameo and sets fire to the freebies (mixie and grinder) offered by a political party.