Popular actor from the South Indian and Hindi film industry Prakash Raj was called out by netizens for slapping a man for ‘speaking in Hindi’ in a ‘Jai Bhim’ scene. The recently released legal drama stars Suriya, Lijomol Jose and more. After it opened to wide-spread acclaim from Indian critics, the film stirred controversy due to one of its scenes. In that particular scene, Prakash Raj who stars as IG Perumalsamy and slaps a man who tries to tries to hide from him by speaking in Hindi instead of Tamil as Raj’s character doesn’t know Hindi. However, the clip has been taken out of context by several people who are upset that the Prakash Raj’s character slapped another character for talking in Hindi.
Meanwhile, after the issue arose, several netizens tried to counter the outrage by explaining the context of the scene and the fact that it’s a fictional piece of art.
Background
What comes first – outrage or promotion which leads to more eyeballs?
Lately, every few days, brands, films and songs are triggering outrage among people of different sects of the society. From imposition of a particular language to hurting religious sentiments by twisting customs and traditions, art and artists lately have been guilty of making avoidable controversies.
However, if when looking at a different perspective, there’s one thing for sure. Content creators stand to benefit from all the word of mouth and ‘bad publicity’ they receive when their content trends on Twitter amid outrage. The notion of ‘any publicity is good publicity’ stands true in this case.
And on the other side, netizens take the bait these content creators and brands throw at them to subsequently popularize the side they are fighting against.
The Facts of the Matter
Suriya and Prakash Raj starring Tamil language film Jai Bhim has been the talk of the talk for its tight screenplay and fantastic performance. However, after the film’s release the news around the film changed from its good reviews, to one of the scenes which has reportedly triggered netizens.
According to reports, the TJ Gnanavel directed film’s one scene in particular has been making rounds on Twitter. In that particular scene, IG Perumalsamy the character of Prakash Raj, is seen slapping a man for a controversial reason.
Raj’s character slapped the man in the film as the other character spoke in Hindi. Raj’s character then goes on to ask the other character to speak in Tamil.
On November 2, a Twitter user shared the video of Prakash Raj slapping a man for talking in Hindi and captioned it with, “Prakash Raj with his propaganda in the movie ‘Jay Bhim’ where he slaps a person who speaks in Hindi.”
In the video that has gone viral, Prakash Raj’s character can be seen speaking angrily to another person who tries to speak with him in Hindi. Prakash Raj’s character then goes on to slap the other person and tells him to talk to him in Tamil.
Watch the Video Here:
Prakash Raj with his propaganda in the movie ‘Jay Bhim’ where he slaps a person who speaks in Hindi. pic.twitter.com/1SwPVssbK7
— Amit Kumar (@AMIT_GUJJU) November 2, 2021
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Netizens React to Prakash Raj’s Slap on “Language Imposition”
This led to some triggered netizens call out the “language imposition” portrayed in the scene.
It's a crime to be a Hindu or to speak Hindi in Hindustan.
— Mohan Bisht (@MohanBi53465294) November 2, 2021
They're spreading hatred against north Indians residing in Tamilnadu.Not done. And secondly why would he speak in Hindi in the govt office of tamilnadu??? None of us will speak in Hindi with them unless we don't know tamil. In this scene he CAN speak in Tamil!. Kuch bhi!!
— Rakshit Jain (@im_rak24) November 2, 2021
@mnsadhikrut @MNSAmeyaKhopkar Please can we also ensure this Prakash Raj speaks only in Marathi when he comes to Mumbai?
— Rakesh Patil (@PatilRakesh85) November 2, 2021
I am really heartbroken after watching #JaiBhim, nothing against actor or anyone but felt really bad, there is a scene in the film where a person speaks Hindi and Prakash Raj slaps him and tells him to speak in Tamil
Honestly this kind of scene was not needed….Hope they cut it
— Rohit Jaiswal (@rohitjswl01) November 1, 2021
We wait for Tamil films… We support them, we request the makers to release it Pan India, in return we don’t want anything but just love…. If not love then atleast not humiliation… 🙏
— Rohit Jaiswal (@rohitjswl01) November 1, 2021
Never expected Prakash Raj did not oppose the director while doing that scene. He has done many hindi films. This is unacceptable
— Professor (@the_backagain92) November 1, 2021
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Netizens Counters Outrage, Explains Context of Scene
Meanwhile, the outrage was countered by some cooler minds that prevailed and tried to explain the context of the scene.
That scene is not about language, he knows Tamil but still speaking hindi then he slapped him and said speak in Tamil. I don't know how did you watch movie without understanding the context 😜 #JaiBhim
— Manikanta🇮🇳 (@ManikantaDoolla) November 2, 2021
Hi, the scene is not against Hindi-speaking Indians. The particular character tries to get away by speaking in Hindi (so that Prakash Raj wouldn't understand) and knowing this strategy, he slaps and asks him to speak in Tamil.Tamil filmmakers are not against the language Hindi1/2
— Rajasekar (@sekartweets) November 2, 2021
They/we only hate when someone or the system forces the language upon us. At the end of the day, we are proud Indians:) 2/2
— Rajasekar (@sekartweets) November 2, 2021
Zomato’s Language Imposition and Consequences
It should be noted that this wasn’t the first time a controversy emerged due to imposition of language. Earlier in October, food delivery giant Zomato was called out by outraged netizens after one of its customer care executives told a customer that everyone must know Hindi as it’s the national language.
Ordered food in zomato and an item was missed. Customer care says amount can't be refunded as I didn't know Hindi. Also takes lesson that being an Indian I should know Hindi. Tagged me a liar as he didn't know Tamil. @zomato not the way you talk to a customer. @zomatocare pic.twitter.com/gJ04DNKM7w
— Vikash (@Vikash67456607) October 18, 2021
After the incident sparked controversy where #BanZomato was trending for hours on Twitter, Zomato issued an apology. The company further announced that it would be terminating the employee who made the mistake.
Vanakkam Vikash, we apologise for our customer care agent's behaviour. Here's our official statement on this incident. We hope you give us a chance to serve you better next time.
Pls don't #Reject_Zomato ♥️ https://t.co/P350GN7zUl pic.twitter.com/4Pv3Uvv32u
— zomato (@zomato) October 19, 2021