Sonia-Sania reference in”Thillalangadi” film angers Congress Leader.

Sonia-Sania reference in”Thillalangadi” film angers Congress Leader.

A forthcoming Tamil film, ‘Thillalangadi’, has pitted Tamil Nadu Congress leader KV Thangkabalu against chief minister M Karunanidhi’s grand-nephew Kalanithi Maran. The bone of contention is the use of Sonia Gandhi’s name in the promos telecast on Sun TV. Thangabalu has demanded that the dialogue be dropped from the film.


The trailer shows heroine Tamannah asking hero ‘Jayam’ Ravi to have some ambition in life, and aim to become either a police officer or a software engineer. The hero retorts, saying, “I too want you to become a party president like Sonia Gandhi or a tennis player like Sania Mirza.”


The Sonia-Sania reference has upset Congress cadres, claimed Thangkabalu, the state Congress chief, in a statement on Thursday. “Party cadres are upset about the ‘derogatory’ reference to our party leader Sonia Gandhi. We demand that the dialogue that is being repeatedly telecast in the promos be stopped and removed from the film,” said Thangabalu. “Our leader has made so many sacrifices for the country and is extremely selfless. She cannot be mentioned with such disrespect,” he said, adding that the collective feeling of the cadres could not be ignored.


Such irreverent references to political leaders can be avoided, and I have requested my friend Kalanithi Maran (who heads the Sun Network Group) to remove the objectionable lines before the film releases today,” he added.


However, Hansraj Saxena, chief operating officer of Sun Pictures, which is releasing the film, said the dialogue was being ‘misunderstood.’ The objection is surprising, said the film’s director ‘Jayam’ Raja. “I am a very careful person and I take care not to hurt the sentiments of anyone since my films are meant for a family audience. I felt that the Sonia-Sania reference would go down as positive role models,” he said.


But TNCC President Thangabalu is unimpressed with what he terms ‘trivialising’ of his leader’s image. “Nobody becomes a party leader overnight or by dreaming of it,” he pointed out. The responsibility of assuaging the wounded feelings of his party cadres rested with him, Thangabalu said.


It is our request that Sun Pictures must give respect to the feelings of Congress workers and the Tamil Nadu Congress President K.V.Thangabalu and they must remove the dialogues pointed out by them from the movie. From removing one dialogue, they will not get any great loss but they will get satisfaction for giving respects to others sentiment.