Kaala and Kabali director Pa. Ranjith, one of the bold and significant Dalit voices from Tamil Nadu, landed in trouble recently for his controversial remarks on King Raja Raja Chozhanthe while speaking at the death anniversary of Umar Farooq, the founder of Blue Panthers Party (Neela Puligal Iyakkam).
While Ranjith has been facing non-stop abuse from a section of people, nearly 300 artists from Tamil Nadu have voiced out their support for the director and have started an online petition addressed to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami, requesting him to stop legal action.
“The arguments placed by Pa Ranjith aren’t particularly new. In fact, these arguments are based on the credible, well-researched findings of Tamil and Western historians. Brought into discourse by Left historians, this view has been widely accepted in the intellectual and political spheres. While there might have been both welcoming and disapproving voices to such perspectives, the freedom, and liberty to place them have always existed,” read the statement from the group.