“The licenses of those who refused to provide a theater should have been canceled”; Director V. Gauthaman is furious at the Salliyargal film event
“Sagayam sir, I consider holding a felicitation ceremony for the ‘Salliyargal’ film crew to be equivalent to winning an Oscar; Producer Suresh Kamatchi.
“Is there a power outage even to hold a felicitation ceremony?” ; The shocking incident that happened in a few minutes at the ‘Salliyargal’ film festival
“Even though extreme honesty is dangerous, don’t give up your principles for it”..; Sahayam IAS praises the director of ‘Salliyargal’
“Living with difficulty is the life of a Tamil” ; Sahayam IAS’s anguish at the ‘Salliyargal’ film festival
Sahayam IAS held a felicitation ceremony for the ‘Salliyargal’ film crew
The film ‘Salliyargal’, produced by Kalaimamani Sethu Karunas and Karikalan on behalf of CW, was released directly on the Odd Plus platform last January when it could not be released in theaters.
Directed by Kittu, the director of Medhagu, the film stars Sathya Devi in the lead role as Dr. Nandini, Karunas as her father, Kalavani fame Thirumurugan as the Army villain, and Mahendran as Dr. Champion. Many more New faces have also acted in this film.
The film, which was made to show the Tamils’ virtues in Eelam, especially the medical team, how much mercy they showed to the enemy soldiers who were injured in the war and how they fought to save their lives, was released by producer Suresh Kamatchi through his V House Productions.
In this context, a felicitation ceremony was held today for the ‘Salliyargal’ film crew in the presence of Mr. Sahayam, the leader of the Makkal Patha Periyakkam and a retired IAS officer.
Producer Suresh Kamatchi, director V. Gauthaman, Tamil National Liberation Movement leader Thiyaku, writer Pugazhenthi Thangaraj, cartoonist Bala, Ravanak Kumar from the Makkal Patha Periyakkam and many others participated in this event.
Speaking at this event,
Director V. Gauthaman said,
“Even though this film was made amidst a great struggle, it was released to the theaters like a healthy delivery. Even though it was not possible to release the film at the last minute and had to be released on OTT, this film created a sensation all over the world. Whether it was not possible to release this film in theaters or on OTT, now it is a situation where even the appreciation ceremony for these artists cannot be held peacefully, this will not happen to any community in the world. The worst thing is that we could not make a film that conveys the experiences of what kind of pain we endured and what kind of life we lived in Eelam.
Producer Suresh Kamatchi, who announced the release date of this film, got the list of theaters at the last minute. Only 28 theaters, and even then, only one screening was reserved in the morning. At that time, we came at his invitation and took this plight to the world by voicing our voice. The next day, Salliyar was released on OTT. All Tamils around the world watched it. It cannot be said that this film was fully conveyed to everyone. The film is not a success, it is a failure.. But it is not a failure for the Salliyar.. This disgraceful race should at least understand that it is a failure for 12 crore Tamils.
We asked permission to take our Tamil history and release it in our Tamil Nadu. But here in Tamil Nadu, other state companies that have set foot in the film industry have turned Tamil Nadu into a tent for looting, so there is no benefit for Tamils. How much longer will we have to watch this?
The world says that if you have an enemy, you should beat it, eliminate it and make it invisible. Only the Tamil nation has that trait of showing mercy to the enemy, and that is what is said in the film ‘Salliyargal’. This film tells the story of how we too can live when a team of doctors saves even an enemy who is injured in a war and keeps him alive. A film made focusing on the history of Tamils where such a hero lived did not get theaters here in Tamil Nadu. The government here should have cancelled the licenses of those who refused to provide theaters.. Did they do it? They didn’t. If they had Tamil consciousness, they would have definitely done it. Let alone the government.. What did even those who call themselves leaders for the Tamil community do?. If 100 of them had invaded the theaters, would the theater owner have said that they would not provide theaters? What did the leaders who say they are for this Tamil community do? I took the sandalwood forest.. Next I took the cashew forest and now I have come to Vannikat. I am going to publish the stories of Vannikat all over the world. Even if the government opposes it.. even if the theater people oppose it.. we will create a situation where there is no place for those who oppose it here,” he said.
Producer Suresh Kamatchi speaking,
“I feel proud to host this event in the presence of Mr. Sagayam IAS. Vijayakanth played the role of a collector in the film Tamilselvan directed by Bharathiraja. Whenever I watched that film, I felt nostalgic that we would see a district collector like him. But in the time we live in, I consider it equivalent to winning an Oscar for Sagayam Sir, who is such a proud symbol of our nation, hosting this event.
It was at that time when I started organizing the press screening of this film that I came to know that I could not find the right theaters for this film. Right then, I thought about canceling the screening. But I decided to let the people watch and decide. It was at that time that I called my brother Gauthaman about this matter. He came there within the next ten minutes. Both cartoonists Bala and Ekalaivan showed great enthusiasm in bringing this film to the people. Companies like Amazon only list films that have been released in theaters and have been successful on their platforms. How can the film Salliyar be a hit if it is released in just one screening in the cinema? That is why we got the OTT Plus platform at that time.
After the release of this film, many people including Annan Seeman, Director M. Kalanjiyam, Tamil Nadu Vazhuvurimik Katchi leader Velmurugan, Comrade Thiagu, Tamilarasan, Thirumurugan Gandhi and others extended their support to this film and even condemned the lack of theatres. I am proud to be born as a Tamil. Actor Karunas came forward to produce this film knowing how much trouble this film would face commercially. Ravana Kumar, a member of the Makkal Patha Periyakkam, who did not know much about cinema, started this film by giving 10 lakh rupees. Till date, no film that tells the history of Eelam Tamils is available on any platform. But for the first time, our film ‘Salliyargal’ is available on all platforms. That is the biggest success we got/ Following this, films about the history of our Tamils will be available on all OTT platforms I hope it will start. I am very proud of the way in which the film Salliyargal has reached the Tamils of the world. I think it is a great privilege for us to receive these accolades under the leadership of Sahayam Sir,” he said.
Makkal Patha Periyakkam leader Mr. Sahayam IAS speaking,
“This is a very good event that is being held emotionally on the basis of a felicitation ceremony for the Salliyargal film crew who accurately expressed the deep morality that was revealed. One may ask why the Salliyarfal film crew should be held for the Makkal Patha Periyakkam. Many people have asked me if this is necessary for an IAS officer. They ask whether an IAS officer should talk about the history of such a national liberation struggle. Basically, I am also a Tamilian.. I am also a human being.. A human being who thinks that wherever humanity is in distress, we should raise our voice. I have realized that only a Tamilian can be a superior human being.
If we think deeply, we have to look at the events of the past eighty years as the source of the Eelam liberation struggle. I completed my master’s degree from Loyola College, Chennai in 1988 and am a student of the Chennai Law College.. This period was the period of the Eelam national liberation struggle. We all know that the freedom struggle was a very stressful period. At that time, the Indian Peace Keeping Force was setting up a camp against our people in Eelam and hurting them, when we students got angry and came to the field of struggle. But I was not even a member of any political or social movement. I was not even a member of a Tamil Sangam. At that time, I was a student born in a simple hamlet in Pudukkottai district, the son of a simple farmer, who was studying law, becoming a lawyer, or if not, becoming an IAS officer, and I had set off for the capital, Chennai, with dreams.
My first goal was to become an IAS, but if I did not get that, I thought I would become a lawyer. The IAS training center run by the Tamil Nadu government was in Anna Nagar. At that time, I was working in a charity organization and was also a student in a law college, and I attended these IAS training courses. However, at that time, due to lack of time, I would not go to the training center very often. So for ten days Once I went to that training college and got the notes they gave me. So the principal of that college didn’t remember my name so he named me Samarasam. However, in order to continue my social work, I told him little lies and went to him.
At this time, three out of the 50 students who studied there were selected in the IAS first stage examination. I was one of them. Two candidates were selected in the main examination that followed.. I was one of them.. Don’t ask me if there was a shortcut that made all this possible without going to training classes, sir..
Next, it was time to go for the final interview.. At that time, our law college students organized a protest meeting against the injustices committed by the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka. They invited me to attend and speak in the meeting.. It was at the same meeting that another college student, Thol Thirumavalavan, was participating and speaking. I thought about this meeting the whole night of the first day whether I should attend this meeting or not, and by dawn I decided that my Tamil land was more important to me. After that, I spoke in the meeting that took place that day. After that, I also went for the interview. Although I was not selected as an IAS in that examination, I was selected for the work of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Central Government.
Now, 12 lakh people have applied for the IAS preliminary examination, and at that time, when I had to choose between an IAS job and Tamil liberation, I was the one who decided that Tamil liberation should be the first choice. It is not that an IAS officer should not talk about the Tamil liberation sentiment. Even when I had a son, my father-in-law asked me to name him Stephen. But I named him Thileepan to express my ethnicity. This language, it is mixed with our life and feelings. It is as an expression of that that great virtue that emerged in the field of liberation of my ethnicity, has been expressed here very accurately by my brother Kittu.
I became a collector in 2009.. Many people like my brother Suresh Kamatchi told me that you are like the collector in the movie Tamil Selvan. As far as I am concerned, I am normal. I came from an ordinary village.. When I studied and grew up in that village full of farmers, people of all castes were very dear.. We classify them as downtrodden people, they were a dear without a stain. When I took charge as Deputy Collector, I wrote, “If you come to power, use your power for the poor people.” That was keeping in mind all the people I grew up seeing in my village.. The then Collector took action against me for not working in favor of the big capitalists in the district I took charge of that day. I learned that virtue from my parents and from this language. When I took office as Collector in 2009, I was not happy. The reason was that our people in Eelam were facing a tough struggle. Here at that time, I was responsible for conducting elections.
During that election, when an executive meeting was held, I received information that a warehouse on Trichy Road had caught fire. I sent the Tahsildar who attended the meeting and then the RTO one after the other. Then, as the situation became more serious, I went to the field myself. I got the news that most of the people trapped inside were from Bihar. At that time, without knowing it, I entered the warehouse along with the firemen and lifted one or two people with my hands as much as I could. Even the officials outside scolded me as to why you went. They all came from other states and trusted us. I acted at that time because it was our duty to protect them. After that, when 16 of them died, we called their relatives from Bihar and held a public rally of 5,000 people here and cremated them with great respect. We collected assistance money from the people and sent it to them. I also wrote a letter to the government recommending that they be given one lakh rupees as an aid. But the government refused to give it to them saying that they were not from our village. But I wrote and fought again and again and got it for them. This is the Tamil virtue. But in the same year 2009, when I took over as the Collector, I was deeply saddened that there was no one to save my people from the danger and disaster that was facing them across the sea. That was not my happy time.
Such a field, the virtue shown in that field, has been wonderfully recorded as a magnificent work by Thambi Kittu, who is going to be a great personality as an artist. That wonderful story selection and field selection are very wonderful. I also have a desire to go to that side of the beach and see it.. To fulfill that desire, I am deeply grateful to Anbu Thambi Kittu, who showed how high the light of our Tamil Nadu was in that field, in those palm tree forests, in those bunkers, in the Sivagangai field.
I congratulate you. I am confident that you will become a great artist and a great director, brother. I say this as someone who has realized that extreme honesty is also a bit dangerous, so don’t give up on your principles.
Even at today’s event, there was a power outage. There was a loudspeaker outage. My brothers are not responsible for that one incident that happened somewhere. I am responsible. We are conducting this with such difficulty. We must understand that living with difficulty is the life of a Tamil. It was only during the ban that occurred today that I was able to understand the ban that occurred when brother Suresh Kamatchi released this film. That interview he gave at that time touched my heart. We have a responsibility to appreciate those great artists who are dear to us. Our brother Ravana Kumar was the culmination of that. 10 lakhs is a lot for him. He pawned all his wife’s jewelry and this was the first point to start this film. We express our heartfelt appreciation to him and Karunas, who produced this film. We should appreciate it deeply.
All the brothers who have an unrivaled devotion to this Tamil will say that we should move forward to electoral politics.. If we decide to take the electoral politics, of course I say, we know that we can easily bring 5000 people here. But beyond the elections, I said that we will start Tamil politics, people’s politics, and ideological politics first. We have all gathered here to appreciate these creators who spoke the virtue that Tamils should not bow their heads. We are standing at a time of great crisis in world history.. We should see how incompetent those who can cause a power outage even for a compliment are.. If the thieves are capable, we should be the ones who stop them,” he said.
