Rs. 1,001 reward announced for kicking Vijay Sethupathi. Here's why
On November 3, popular South actor Vijay Sethupathi and his manager were attacked at Bengaluru airport. The video clip of the assault went viral and since then there has been no end of turmoil for the Super Deluxe star. Now, a political party has announced a Rs. 1,001 reward for anyone who kicks the star. Read on to find out what led to this.
Why does it matter?
Hindu Makkal Katchi (HMK) in Tamil Nadu has announced the monetary reward on Twitter. This step came based on the claims made by Maha Gandhi, the individual who had attacked Sethupathi. In a series of interviews after the incident, the man implied Sethupathi had insulted an important figure of the Thevar community--U Muthuramalingam Thevar, leading to heated debates. The actor has denied the claims.
The party is demanding apology from the actor
"Arjun Sampath announces cash award, for kicking actor Vijay Sethupathi for insulting Thevar Ayya. 1 kick = Rs.1001/- for any one who kicks him, until he apologizes (sic)," the right-wing party tweeted on November 7. It then started a poll to vote "who deserves respect in TN," between Sethupathi and Muthuramalingam. Notably, the patriarch of the Thevar community, Muthuramalingam was also a honed politician.
The actor allegedly insulted patriarch of Thevar community
But what led to this? According to Gandhi's testimony of the incident, he was a co-passenger of the Laabam actor and wanted to congratulate him for receiving the National Award. Upon doing so, Sethupathi allegedly asked "is this a nation," in a sarcastic tone. Then, Gandhi asked whether he would attend the Thevar Guru Puja held in Muthuramalingam's honor. Sethupathi apparently insulted Muthuramalingam there.
How did Sethupathi react?
The man also said that after getting off the flight, he was attacked by two people and his attempt at attacking the star was an act of retaliation. Sethupathi had earlier claimed that the attacker was drunk and said the incident "was nothing much." Moreover, no case was registered against the attacker. Till the time of writing, Sethupathi has given no further statement.
