Political voices across Tamil Nadu have condemned the newly released Bollywood film Jaat, starring Sunny Deol, over its portrayal of a fictional militant group resembling the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The film has drawn fierce backlash for what critics say is its maligning representation of the Eelam Tamil liberation movement and the fighters who participated in it.
The Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), led by veteran politician Vaiko, passed a resolution during its administrative council meeting on Sunday demanding an immediate ban on the film in Tamil Nadu. The party asserted that Jaat contains “scenes maligning the Eelam Tamil freedom movement” and criticised the portrayal of Tamil Tigers as “cruel terrorists.” The MDMK claimed that these elements were not essential to the film’s plot and served only to tarnish the image of those who sacrificed their lives in the struggle for a separate Tamil homeland.
“The movie has portrayed the members of Tamil Tigers (LTTE) who sacrificed their lives for Tamil Eelam as cruel terrorists,” the party resolution stated. “This meeting insists that Jaat should be banned in Tamil Nadu.”
Echoing this call, Seeman, Chief Coordinator of the Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), issued a sharp condemnation of the film, describing it as “highly condemnable for denigrating the Tamil Eelam liberation struggle and portraying the freedom fighters who fought for their motherland as terrorists.”
Seeman criticised the film’s use of a group named “Jaffna Tiger Force (JTF)” in a storyline based in North India, arguing that the narrative was crafted with “racial hatred towards Tamils.” He declared: “It can never be allowed to set a narration as if the Tamil Eelam liberation struggle was wrong and its commanders were cruel villains.”
“We can no longer afford to insult our heroic martyrs, who embrace death and are revered in the hearts of Tamils all over the world,” Seeman added. He demanded that the filmmakers remove the controversial scenes and called on the Tamil Nadu government to ban the film immediately. “Failing which,” he warned, “the Naam Tamilar Katchi will launch a massive people's protest and blockade the theatres.”
Alongside the political statements, the film has also sparked a boycott call on social media.