The South Indian Film Artistes Association (Nadigar Sangam) on Monday pledged its support for the rally organized by various bodies of the film fraternity under the leadership of director Bharathiraja on October 19 at Rameswaram to condemn the killing of Tamils in Sri Lanka.

However the association had requested the authorities to shift the venue from Rameswaram to Chennai to ensure total participation of its members. At a meeting held by the Nadigar Sangam on Monday in Chennai, which was presided over by its president Sarath Kumar, it was discussed in detail about whether to be not a part of the rally or support the procession.

Various speakers at the meeting deliberated in detail that the association was not consulted over staging the rally. However, it was decided finally that they have to express their sympathy for sufferings of Tamils in the neighboring Island nation.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, Sarath Kumar said, "We have expressed our support for the rally about to be staged in support of the suffering Tamils. We would turn out in large numbers to bolster the procession, if it had been organized in Chennai."

Actor and Mylapore MLA S Ve Shekher, Goundamani, Nepolean, producer K Rajan, Radha Ravi, Sundar C, Manobala, Prabhu, Sivakumar, Murali, Babu Ganesh, Mumtaz, Namitha, Prashanth, Manorama and Vijayakumar among others attended the meeting.