Mani Ratnam defends escape scene in Kaatru Veliyidai after heavy criticism

To put an end to the questions from people about the authenticity of a particular scene in Kaatru Veliyidai where Karthi along with two others escape from the Rawalpindi Prison in Pakistan, director Mani Ratnam decided to elaborate more about the scene’s background.

In his statement, he says, “Currently, Kaatru Veliyidai is running in theatres successfully. There is a sequence in the film, where the Indian prisoners Karthi and two friends, escape from a Pakistani prison and their army men. Some reviewers have been quizzing the authenticity of this sequence. So, here is the true story behind this sequence.”

The statement further reads, “When Flight Lieutenant Dilip Parulkar was shot down over Pakistan on  December  10, 1971, he quickly turned that catastrophe into the greatest adventure of his life. On 13 August 1972, Parulkar along with Malvinder Singh Grewal and Harish Sinhji escaped from a POW camp in Rawalpindi.” Mani Ratnam  further said that the story of their escape was written as a book called ‘Four Miles To Freedom’ by Ms. Faith Johnston.

“Kaatru Veliyidai borrows incidents from this book. Most of what Karthi and his friends do to escape are from real incidents. So, this should put an end to people who question the authenticity of this sequence and the confusion surrounding this sequence.”