Controversy over bulls again! The first-look motion picture of Vijay Sethupathi’s Karuppan, where he tames the ‘Komban’ bull, was released recently. The film is being produced by AM Rathnam and directed by Paneerselvam of Renigunta fame.
Vijay Sethupathi plays the titular role of Karuppan and will be seen as a bull-tamer. ‘Karuppan’ is the name of family deity for the people of Theni and its nearby villages. The movie is a family drama set against the backdrop of the traditional, valorous Tamil sport jallikattu and touted to be a first film where the sport is shot in an extensive manner. “We have also shot the real jallikattu game in the movie and prior permission was taken from the Animal Welfare Board for the same,” Paneerselvam confirmed to DC earlier.
Now, we hear that Kaathan from Trichy, an owner of the Komban bull, has sent a notice to director Paneerselvam, producer Rathnam and actor Sethupathi, for demeaning his bull Komban, which was never tamed by anyone so far.
The first look poster of Karuppan portrays Vijay Sethupathi taming the ferocious bull. Kaathan claimed that the makers have used Komban’s picture without obtaining any permission from him and demanded an unconditional apology within a week from receiving the notice, failing which, he would go to court.
Talking about his bull, Kaathan said, “I am rearing this Komban in the memory of my mother. In fact, Komban has huge fan followers and even fan clubs in his name! The makers of the film have used graphics to create my bull in the poster, which has given me mental agony.”
When we contacted director Paneerselvam, all he said was, “I did not see the notice yet. We will face it legally.”
Close sources to the makers, said, “It’s really funny as someone is claiming that we have used Komban in the picture. We do have scenes involving Sethupathi taming the bulls, but those were properly hired for the film. The poster is only a symbolic one!” Now, that’s called the smart way of getting publicity for Karuppan, even before its release, isn’t it?
