Bhubaneswar: The makers of the recently released Odia movie ‘Priye Tu Mo Siye’ are in for trouble with a police complaint filed against the producer, director and actress at Kalinganagar police station for alleged ‘casteist’ dialogue in the movie.
The movie, starring Amlan Das and Elina Samantaray in lead roles, has been produced by Jhilik Bhattacharjee’s Jhilik Motion Pictures. It was released on Bahuda Yatra of Jagannath temple deities on June 28.
According to sources, Sukinda Dalit Manch has filed a complaint at the police station over the word ‘Harijan’ used in the movie. Alleging that the makers have violated Supreme Court’s ruling against use of this word, the members have demanded for stopping screening of the movie and their arrest. They also threatened to stage protests if no action is taken.
Another complaint has been filed against the makers in Rayagada. The dialogue was reportedly mouthed by the actress. Sudhanshu Mohan is the director of the movie.
In 2017, the SC Bench had said that calling a person by these names is nowadays an abusive language and offensive. It is used not to denote a caste but to intentionally insult and humiliate someone.
Notably, Jhilik is the wife of Sukinda MLA Pritiranjan Gharai, who is serving as Minister of State, Rural Development, in Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government in Odisha.
