Joseph Maliakan
In a great relief to those who upold free speech the Supreme Court on Thursday 19 June directed the Karnataka Government to provide full protection for the screening of ‘ Thug Life ‘ the new film of actor politician Kamal Hassan.
The movie was to have opened in Karnataka on 5 June , but it got mired in controversy over Kamal Hassan’s comment about the Kannada language being ” born out of Tamil ” .The remark , at an event in Chennai , led to anger among various pro- Kannada groups.
They demanded an unconditional apology from Kamal Hassan but he stood his ground .He argued that his comment had been misunderstood and while he respected the Kannada language he held his fundamental right to freedom speech and expression very dear.
Various Kannada groups called for the boycot of Kamal Hassan’s films and Thug Life was not released in Karnataka.The Supreme Court severely criticised the State of Karnataka for allowing the mob rule to take over and stop the release of the film in Karnataka.
The State of Karnataka assured the Supreme Court that it will provide protection to the film makers so that film’s release is not obstructed by vigilante groups.
A bench of Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice Manmohan accepted the state’s affidavit and said : ” In view of the stand taken by the State in the affidavit it is not necessary to delve into the rival contentions …The affidavit also discloses in the event the movie is released the state will provide full protection and security for the same…We direct the State that in the event anybody tries to forcibly obstruct the release of the movie , the State shall act promptly against such groups.
The Supreme Court passed the order on a petition filed by a Banglore resident M Mahesh Reddy , who pointed out that despite having valid Censor Board Certificate , the film Thug Life was effectively banned in Karnataka due to threats by fringe organisations and inaction by State authorities.
His Counsel A. Velan , urged the bench to lay down some guidelines to prevent such incidents from recurring in future. However, the Court declined to issue any such guidelines. However the bench reiterated that the State cannot bow to pressure from vigilante groups in such matters.
” Just because of an opinion a movieis stopped, a stand up comedian is stopped, a person is stopped from reciting a poem …You ( State ) succumbed to their pressure. In such circumstances State has a duty . Simply saying ban is not imposed will take it nowhere. You are hiding behind these groups .In India there will be no end to hurt sentiments . Stand up comedian says something everybody is hurt , then there is vandalism. Where are we heading ? The Court wondered.
The petition before Supreme Court had said that after Victory Cenema announced its plan to screen the film in Bangluru , Karnataka Rakshana Vedike ( KRV ) President TA Narayana Gowda allegedly threatened to ” set theaters on fire ” if any film of Hassan is released in the State.
Around the same time a social media postexplicitly called for a repeat of the 1991 anti-Tamil riots and warned of violence if the film were to be released in the State. No cases were registered despite widespread public outcry over the tweet and the alleged threats ,the petition said. On the bais of the petition the SC had last week issued notice to the State of Karnataka.
The Supreme Court at that time also transferred acse related to the screening of Thug Life filed by Kamal Hassan’s production house Raaj Kamal Films , from the Karnataka High Court to itself. The Karnataka High Court while haring the petition had criticised Hassan for his remarks and urged him to apologise to settle the matter.However , Hassan had refused to apologise saying that he had not said anything with malicious intent. Senior advocate Satish Parasaran represented the Production House in the Supreme Court on Thursday.
Senior Advocate Sanjay Nuli representing Krataka Sahitya Parshad argued that language is a very sensitive subject that Hassan should not have made such ” irresponsible ” statement. … The movie should be screened subject to apology by the actor,” Nuli said.
To which the court replied , ” There is no question of apology …you confront his statement with your own research. Counter him . Instead of creating such a situation , you file a defamation suit. You cannot take law in to your hands. You must make a statement that you will not object the release in any unlawful manner.” the Court said.
Despite the Supreme Court ruling it is unlikely that the film will be screened in Karnataka , because the disributor has reservations. Venkatesh kamalakar , who had acqired the Karnataka distribution rights under VR Films , said he will not release the film in Karnataka.
” We had taken the distribution rights for the film but could not release it because of the controversy and threat of violence. ” It is already two weeks since the film has been released and is under performing everywhere. Collections are falling and multiplexes are not enthusiastic. They are now offering 30 percent of what we originally expected.”.
If the production house wants to distribute the film through another distributer they can do so but they can do it only they settle the issue with us he added.
