Chennai: Tamil film Parasakthi, which revisits the 1965 anti-Hindi imposition agitation in Tamil Nadu, has stirred a political controversy in the state, drawing strong objections from the Congress, even as its ally and the ruling DMK appears to welcome it. The rival BJP, meanwhile, has sought to exploit the discord within the ruling alliance.
Directed by Sudha Kongara and starring Sivakarthikeyan, Atharvaa and Sreeleela, the film is set against the backdrop of the agitation that erupted when Hindi was sought to be made the sole official language of India. The Congress was then in power at both the central and state level.
Using a fictional protagonist, Parasakthi weaves its narrative around real historical events including the Madurai Congress office violence, the police firing at Annamalai University and Congress leader Indira Gandhi’s visit to Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu Youth Congress has issued a statement condemning the film and demanding a ban, alleging that Parasakthi distorts historical facts and maligns the party and its leaders.
Arun Bhaskar, state senior vice-president of the Tamil Nadu Youth Congress, said the film contains “fabricated events presented as history” and accused the makers of advancing a politically motivated narrative that unfairly targets the Congress.
The Youth Congress has specifically objected to the portrayal of Indira Gandhi engaging with protesters in a manner that it said was not supported by historical records. Similarly, it has objected to scenes suggesting compulsory use of Hindi across government institutions in the period, and the claim that the Congress was directly responsible for large-scale civilian deaths during the agitation in the state, particularly in Pollachi in Coimbatore.
Terming the film “factually incorrect and defamatory”, the Youth Congress is demanding that the objectionable portions be removed, warning that it would pursue legal action and seek a ban if corrective steps are not taken.
No other Congress leader has come out with a strong statement on the film, however.
When asked about it, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K. Selvaperunthagai told the media that every party has such a story in its history and the criticism should be genuine.
Leaders of the DMK, whose ideological roots lie in the anti-Hindi movement, have broadly welcomed films that revisit Tamil Nadu’s linguistic resistance, and Prasakathi, produced by Dawn Pictures, is distributed by Red Giant Movies, founded by Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin. The DMK has also not directly responded to the Congress’ objections.
The BJP has seized upon the Congress protest to attack the DMK-Congress alliance, arguing that the episode exposes internal contradictions—with the DMK apparently celebrating a narrative that indicts the Congress.
BJP leaders have further accused both parties of selective memory and political opportunism, claiming cinema is being used to reopen historical wounds for contemporary political mobilisation.
BJP’s former state president K. Annamalai welcomed the movie and said it shows how Congress rule was in the past.
“Watching the movie, people should know how the Congress was then and should not vote for the Congress-DMK combine now in an alliance,” Annamalai told reporters in Chennai.
Adding fuel to the fire, the cast of Sivakarthikeyan and Ravi Mohan, and music director G.V. Prakash attended Pongal celebrations at Union Minister L. Murugan’s house in New Delhi Wednesday, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi also participated.
During the visit, when asked about the movie allegedly being used as a propaganda tool, Sivakarthikeyan told reporters that it was not so and that he was also not propagating anything through it.
When asked about the Congress’s opposition, he said: “People have taken it in the right sense and those who oppose it also should watch it. Once they watch it, they will understand that there is nothing wrong in the movie. Even if they don’t understand the first time, they will definitely understand if they watch it the second time.”
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3 episodes of 1965 in film
Parasakthi shows a clash outside the Congress office during a student protest, an agitation at Annamalai University and Indira Gandhi’s visit to Tamil Nadu.
According to the book Struggle for Freedom of Languages in India by A. Ramasamy, former Vice Chancellor of Alagappa University, on 25 January, 1965, clashes had erupted outside the Madurai District Congress Committee office after tensions escalated during a student march against Hindi imposition.
Violence followed, including arson, and widespread damage was caused to Hindi signboards across the city. Nine students and eight policemen were injured, after which prohibitory orders were imposed.
The film also depicts police firing during a student protest at Annamalai University. Historically, 18-year-old M. Rajendran, a first-year mathematics student, was shot at during police firing after protests escalated despite prohibitory orders. According to A. Ramasamy’s book, he succumbed to his injuries in the absence of timely medical assistance. The incident triggered campus violence, arrests and temporary closure of the university.
Parasakthi further shows Indira meeting student representatives, following which assurances on language policy were conveyed by the government. However, historically, although Indira visited Tamil Nadu, there is no documented evidence of a mass meeting with student protesters as depicted in the film.
Indira Gandhi, as Union Information and Broadcasting Minister, had visited Tamil Nadu in 1965 and held discussions with senior Congress leaders, including K. Kamaraj and then chief minister M. Bhaktavatsalam.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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