What is the Mersal controversy: A 10-point guide

What is this controversy surrounding Mersal and the Tamil actor Vijay. And why is PM Modi being dragged into the row?

NEW DELHI: As the Vijay-starrer Mersal rakes in big bucks at the box office, a controversy has been simmering underneath. Political parties are up in arms against the movie and it makers. But what is this controversy surrounding Mersal and the Tamil actor Vijay. And why is Prime Minister Narendra Modi being dragged into the row? 

Here's a quick 10-point guide for you to understand the Mersel row:

1. Mersal, a Tamil movie, starring Ilayathalapathy Vijay in triple roles was released during the Diwali holiday. Double taxation by the state led to an increase in movie ticket prices, causing a furore in the Tamil film industry. The movie did well at the box-office, reportedly grossing more than Rs 100 crores in the first three days.

2. Immediately after, the Vijay-starrer flick was panned by Bharatiya Janata Party for dialogues criticising PM Modi's Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Digital India initiatives. 

3. The film has also been criticised for it's dialogue on temples. The police on Tuesday filed a complaint against the actor for allegedly hurting 'Hindu' statements.

4. Tamil Nadu BJP chief Tamilisai Soundararajan demanded dialogues related to GST, digital payments and temples be removed from the movie as they allegedly spread a wrong message.

5. The Tamil Nadu Government Doctors’ Association also objected the negative portrayal of medical professionals in the movie. In a silent protest, Indian Medical Association (IMA) shared links of the movie on a pirated portals through social media.

6. Senior BJP leader H Raja on Sunday raked up religion issue by tweeting Vijay's voter ID card, with a caption “Truth is bitter”. The ID shows the actor's full name as Joseph Vijay. He had also earlier written, “Joseph Vijay’s hatred for Modi is Mersal”.

7. A war of words also broke out between Bollywood actor-director Farhan Akhtar and BJP leader GVL Narasimha Rao. The senior politician, in a television interview, remarked movie stars have "very low IQ and very low general knowledge". To this Akhtar tweeted - "How dare you, sir?" and tagged the BJP leader.

8. Several political leaders including Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and DMK leader MK Stalin lashed out at BJP for demandign cuts.
“Mr. Modi, Cinema is a deep expression of Tamil culture and language. Don't try to demon-etise Tamil pride by interfering in Mersal,” tweeted Gandhi.

9. Veteran actors Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan have come out in support of Mersal, praising it for addressing critical issues.

10. As the film makers contemplate deleting scenes, the film and artists fraternity have called the entire episode an attack on freedom of expression.