Jai Bhim: Madras High Court asks cops not to initiate stern action against Suriya and director Gnanavel

Director TJ Gnanavel's Jai Bhim, which had a direct release on Amazon Prime Video last year, opened to unanimous positive reviews from critics and the audience alike. However, the courtroom drama which was based on real incidents had courted controversies, too.

A caste outfit had expressed their disappointment over the portrayal of a cop character in the movie. They questioned the intentions of director and actor Suriya who also bankrolled the project under his production house. A few days later, their protest intensified and the caste outfit warned Suriya for showcasing them in poor light. They also announced a sum for people of their caste to attack the actor.

Many filmmakers and actors from Kollywood came forward in support of Suriya; they took to their respective social media pages to say that freedom of expression can't be curbed and that threatening filmmakers isn't the right way to protest.

A while ago, an FIR was filed against Suriya and Gnanavel in Chennai alleging that they have hurt the feelings of a community. Both of them approached the Madras High Court to quash the FIR as they felt it was baseless.

The High Court today came up with a verdict which is favourable to Suriya and Gnanavel. It asked the cops not to take strict action against the actor-filmmaker duo. Meanwhile, Jai Bhim will be screened in a few selected theatres on Friday, on the occasion of Suriya's birthday falling on July 23.

The actor played a lawyer in the acclaimed movie which is based on K Chandru, a former judge of Madras High Court, who took up several socially relevant cases to ensure justice to the marginalized communities. Lijomol Jose, Manikandan, Rao Ramesh, MS Bhaskar and Guru Somasundaram are a few others who played notable roles in Jai Bhim.