Jai Bhim – the film that was controversial and also brought to light the story of an Irula tribe family to the fore. This film was released in 2021 and won several accolades. This film was made by actor-virtue signaller Suriya.
At the time of its release, it became clear that neither the actor/production house nor the director (TJ Gnanavel) – Suriya, and the Jai Bhim film crew neither helped her nor sought the real-life Sengenni (Parvathi)‘s permission to turn her life story into a film.
As recent as this month, a picture of Parvathi Rajakannu – the lady whose story was made into the film was seen circulating in social media. Parvathi continues to live in conditions of abject poverty even today.
It is noteworthy that TN Chief Minister MK Stalin wrote a long review of the film praising it on his X handle.
Stalin had written, “Great art should make an impact on the audience and bring about a positive change in society. I watched my friend Suriya’s Jai Bhim, in which he has lived as advocate Chandru. It has had a huge impact on me.” He further added, “Suriya did not just make the film on the issues of tribal people, he also contributed Rs 1 crore to the organisation which works for the welfare of tribal people.”
பார்வையளர்களின் மனதில் தாக்கத்தையும் அதன்விளைவாக சமூகத்தில் நல்லதொரு மாற்றத்தையும் ஏற்படுத்துவதுதான் சிறந்ததொரு கலைப்படைப்பு!
நேற்று நண்பர் @Suriya_offl வழக்கறிஞர் சந்துருவாக வாழ்ந்துள்ள #ஜெய்பீம் திரைப்படத்தைப் பார்த்தேன். அத்திரைப்படம் ஏற்படுத்திய அதிர்வுகள் ஏராளம். pic.twitter.com/khinGGgRLF
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) November 1, 2021
Parvathi belonging to the Kuravar community is the wife of Rajakannu who died in police custodial torture in 1993. In a YouTube interview in 2021, Parvathi stated that her two sons were mentally challenged and she had been struggling to make ends meet living with her daughter and son-in-law. In the film, the protagonist is shown to be from the Irular community while Parvathi belongs to the one mentioned above.
It is to be noted that the movie Jai Bhim shows Chandru (actor Suriya) handing over a new house to Sengenni (Parvathi) after her legal victory. However, in reality, Parvathi is still struggling to live, in a hut with not even basic facilities.
The Tamil society including CM Stalin, Suriya, and the Jai Bhim crew have done injustice to Parvathi. Here’s how.
As mentioned earlier, this film received several international accolades. One among them was the Noida International Film Festival in 2022. Along with such accolades, the film receives awards, international recognition, and a prize money of ₹40 lakhs.
Most often, when films are based on real-life stories, the directors, the actors, or the production house hand over a significant amount to the person on whom the film is based. This is a general phenomenon. However, this was not done by Suriya or his crew.
Here‘s another award they receive – In 2022, the film received the Huading Award, which is a China-based award. It was allegedly given to Jai Bhim that year for showcasing Communist ideology. It is said that this film was given a cash award of ₹1 crore. It is also alleged that if a filmmaker wants to enter the Chinese film market or get funding from China, they need to have won this award.
Another award that the film received, from the Boston International Film Festival and was given a cash prize of $30,000.
In all these instances, the prize money, or even a part of it was given to Parvathi by Suriya or the director.
To compare, let’s look at Leonardo DiCaprio and what he did for the community on which his film Blood Diamond was based. He is said to have “quietly donated” a sum of funds for the betterment of the locals. However, nothing of this sort was done by Suriya or his director/production house to improve the condition of Parvathi on whose life the film Jai Bhim which received international awards, accolades, and prizes, is based. Parvathi continues to live in poverty as she used to earlier and her life has seen no change at all.
Apart from the prize money through the international film festivals, Jai Bhim is also said to have earned money through the sale of satellite/OTT/digital rights. It is alleged that Amazon gave around ₹45 crores and Kalaignar TV offered ₹10 crores for the rights.
It is noteworthy that Suriya and Jothika shifted base to Mumbai, allegedly for better education for their children/job prospects for the actor couple.
There were reports that some time back Suriya issued a press release saying that he would open a fixed deposit of ₹10 lakh in Parvathi’s name and would hand over the interest accrued to her every month. Compared to the amount earned by the production house/director/actor through the sale of rights, and awards etc, the ₹10 lakhs is a pittance. In fact, she has not even been given a justified amount as royalty for showcasing her story.
(with inputs from Maridhas)
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