A scene from Suriya's latest Amazon Prime Video release, Jai Bhim, has sparked a controversy on social media, with many stating that it is propagating linguistic hatred against Hindi.
The clip that is going viral on social media shows actor Prakash Raj slapping a character and asking him to speak in Tamil.
In the film, Prakash Raj plays a good cop named IG Perumalsamy. He slaps a North Indian pawnshop owner, who tries to get away from a crime by speaking in Hindi as a cover-up, despite knowing Tamil.
Many Twitteratis have expressed that the scene propagates an anti-Hindi ideology.
Directed by Tha Se Gnanavel, Jai Bhim is a courtroom drama that speaks about the injustice levied by the system against the tribal communities.
The film has Rajisha Vijayan, Manikandan, and Lijomol Jose in prominent roles. The film also features actors Rao Ramesh, Guru Somasundaram, Ilavarasu, Jayaprakash, MS Bhaskar, Rajendran, Subathra, and others.
The film has music by Sean Roldan, cinematography by SR Kadhir, and editing by Philomin Raj.
Jai Bhim, produced by Suriya-Jyotika's 2D Entertainment, is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.