Vijay’s official statement on the Mersal controversy

Vijay’s Mersal has hogged the headlines for over a week now. Releasing on October 17, the movie opened to extraordinary response from the audience. This Atlee directorial has already shattered several pre-existing records and is expected to continue the same in the coming weeks also.

Mersal’s phenomenal success comes amidst its own fair share of issues. The ruling BJP had demanded a removal of few scenes from the film alleging that the makers have mocked their schemes like digital India and GST. Doctors also called for boycotting Mersal as they claimed that their profession is shown in poor light in the film.

The issue soon caught nationwide attention as national channels started covering the issue. Opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi, P Chidambaram, Kabil Sibal and Sasi Tharoor came down heavily at BJP for trying to curtail the makers’ freedom of expression. Celebrities like Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Vishal, Aravind Swamy, Kushboo and many others voiced their support for Mersal team.

Vijay, who maintained a dignified silence all this while has finally come out with a statement. The letterhead in his press statement, reads the name as, ‘Joseph Vijay’, which is clearly aimed at BJP leader H Raja, who called him anti-Hindu.

The statement reads,

“Mersal, which released for the festival of Diwali, is running successfully in the theaters. Many oppositions have also cropped up for the film. But my film industry friends, colleagues, directors, the various cinema related associations, political leaders, party representatives, media friends, online friends, critics, my fans, commoners and everyone joined together and gave support to the entire team of Mersal.

My sincere thanks to all of you for making Mersal a big hit and for lending support to our team.

Yours truly,
Vijay”

Mersal, meanwhile, is inching closer to the elite 200 crore club. If the movie manages it, he will be the first Tamil actor after superstar Rajinikanth to breach the mark. This big budget film is funded by Thenandal Film Studios.