Tamil star Vijay, whose latest film Mersal faced opposition from political leaders, on Wednesday thanked those who supported the film.
“My friends from the film world i.e. actors and actresses, directors, bodies like SIAA [South Indian Artistes Association] and TFPC [Tamil Film Producers Council] and popular leaders at national level, state political leaders and political representatives extended big support to me and the Mersal crew,” Vijay said a the statement.
“I extend my heartfelt thanks to all those who had made Mersal a grand success and for supporting [it],” he added.
In a scene from the movie, which has since gone viral on social media, Vijay’s character brings up the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and health care in the country.
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Senior BJP leader H Raja, a national secretary in the party, state president Tamilisai Soundarajan and Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan, had demanded that the makers delete the “incorrect” references to GST from the movie.
The controversy took a communal angle when Raja referred to Vijay by his full name, C Joseph Vijay, while criticising the GST mention in the film.
Vijay took a potshot at that by issuing the statement on a letter-head that carried his full name.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, former Union minister P Chidambaram, DMK working president M K Stalin, veteran star Kamal Haasan and a host of Tamil cinema industry representatives had supported the film crew on the issue. Superstar Rajinikanth had said on Twitter that the film addressed an important issue.
