FIR Against Filmmaker Mani Ratnam After Horse Dies On Sets Of ‘Ponniyin Selvan’

New Delhi: The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) has sought an inquiry in connection with the death of a horse here allegedly during the shooting of filmmaker Mani Ratnam’s Tamil historical drama “Ponniyin Selvan”, according to PETA. A case was registered after a volunteer of PETA India, on August 18 filed a complaint stating that a horse died during the shooting of the movie at a private land near a film studio here on August 11, News18 quoted a police official in Hyderabad as saying.

Based on the complaint, a case was registered against the management of production house “Madras Talkies” and the owner of the horse under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act and IPC, they said.

According to the complaint received by them from a whistle-blower, several horses were continuously used for hours at the film set due to which the animals were tired and dehydrated.

“In the age of computer-generated imagery (CGI), production companies have no excuse for forcing exhausted horses to play at war until one of them drops dead,”  PETA India Chief Advocacy Officer Khushboo Gupta was quoted as saying.