Actor Suriya To Deposit Rs 10 L For Real Life 'Jai Bhim' Victim Rajakannu's Wife

The actor's recent movie Jai Bhim was based on the true-life story of Rajakannu from Irular community who died in the custody of Tamil Nadu police.

Chennai: Actor Suriya on Sunday issued a statement that he will deposit Rs 10 lakh to the wife of Rajakannu, a victim of custodial torture and on whose real-life story Suriya’s recent movie Jai Bhim was made. The actor's recent movie Jai Bhim was based on the true-life story of Rajakannu from Irular community who died in the custody of Tamil Nadu police which triggered a long legal battle in 1990s.

The response of Suriya comes after CPI (M) State Secretary K Balakrishnan urged Suriya to provide financial help to Parvathy Ammal who is a daily wage labourer near Chennai and is struggling for a living. 

In a statement to Balakrishnan, Suriya said, "We want to extend help to Parvathy Ammal, Rajakannu's wife, in a way that it will help her for the years to come. Hence, we have decided to deposit Rs 10 lakh in the name of Parvathy Ammal. The elderly can use the interest of the deposited amount to lead her life. After her, we have also made ways for her legal heirs to get the sum." 

"All the more, we are also thinking about ways we can help tribal children with their education. The only solution to the caste-based discrimination is making them get access to education," he said. 

Earlier, Suriya donated Rs 1 crore to Pazhankudi Irular Educational Trust towards the education of Irular community members. The actor handed over the sum to the trust in the presence of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin. 

The film Jai Bhim is based on a legal battle to get justice for custodial torture and death of Irular man which later resulted in the prosecution of police personnel.

Meanwhile, the parent body of PMK, Vanniyar Sangam has sent a legal notice to the makers of the movie Jai Bim and OTT platform Amazon Prime to remove some of the scenes that portray the movie in poor light and have sought Rs 5 crore as damage. 

However, fans of Suriya and the public have joined hands to trend #WeStandWithSuriya to extend solidarity with the actor.