More than 150 members, owing allegiance to a Kongu Vellalar outfit, were arrested in Coimbatore on Tuesday, for staging a protest demonstration in front of cinema halls screening ‘Uthamaputhiran’.

Alleging that the Dhanush-starrer film, which hit screens on Diwali day, had portrayed the Goundar community in a bad light, the agitators raised slogans against the movie and wanted the theatres to stop its screening.

“The film has been made in such a way that it would bring disrepute to our community. We will not allow it run anywhere. Also, we demand an unconditional apology from those involved in the project,” protestors said.

Meanwhile, director of the movie Mithran R Jawahar has denied the charges and said “nowhere in the film had we hurt the sentiments of any particular caste or community. ‘Uthamaputhiran’ is a complete family entertainer.”

He added: “The film has a family-oriented theme and speaks about the value of relationships in our day-to-day lives. Though we have mentioned the name of the community, there are no scenes which hurt its sentiments.”

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Listen to 'Uthamaputhiran' songs on Raaga!