'Naam Thamizhar' group seeks ban on 'Madras Cafe'

Chennai, July 18 (IANS) "Naam Thamizhar" (We Tamils), a Tamil activist party, has sought a ban on John Abraham-starrer "Madras Cafe" for showing the members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as terrorists in the recently released trailer of the movie.

"We have requested the government of Tamil Nadu to intervene and stop the film from releasing. We would like to see the film before its release as it is learnt from the trailer that LTTE cadres were shown as terrorists," Tamil filmmaker Seeman, who heads the party, told IANS.

"How can these members who fought for Sri Lankan Tamils be shown in such poor light. We don't want to make assumptions and, therefore, request that the film be shown to us before release. We wouldn't allow the release of the film in Tamil Nadu until it's shown to us," he added.

"Madras Cafe", a political-thriller, is directed by Shoojit Sircar. The film dealing about terrorism and civil war was reportedly shot in Sri Lanka and India.

Seeman says his party will urge Tamilians in other countries to not watch the film.

"We will request all our Tamil brothers to not watch the film. It's become a fad to show LTTE members as terrorists in cinema lately. Thousands of Tamilians were killed in Sri Lanka during the 2009 genocide. Why doesn't anyone make a film on the genocide," he asked.

"If we don't find any scene in the film objectionable, then we will be more than happy to allow its release. I hope the government will get in touch with producers of the film and come to an amicable agreement on this matter," he added.

The "Naam Thamizhar" party was originally founded by S.P. Adithanar. Since the 2009 genocide, Seeman has been heading the party.

"Madras Cafe" also features Ayushmann Khurana, Nargis Fakhri, Rashi Khanna and Leena Maria.

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Madras Cafe