Malayalam actor apologises after ‘Prabhakaran joke’ causes outrage in India

Malayalam actor Dulquer Salmaan sent out a public apology earlier today after a scene in his recent Malayalam-language movie ‘Varane Avashyamund’, which involved naming a pet dog “Prabhakara”, caused outrage online.

The use of the LTTE leader’s name in such a manner provoked outrage online, with the hashtags #PrabhakaranIsTamilsIdentity and #PrabhakaranIsOurLeader soon trending in southern India.

Salmaan claimed that the use of the name had nothing to do with the Eelam Tamil leader and quickly issued an apology on his social media platforms.

“I apologise to all of the good and kind tamizh people who felt offended,” Salmaan posted, after reportedly being swamped with thousands of messages demanding an apology. “I have never intended to offend anyone through my films or my words. It’s genuinely a misunderstanding.”

“The joke is a reference to an older Malayalam film Pattana Pavesham and is a common Meme in Kerala,” Salmaan claimed.

However, Salmaan still faced backlash online, with one user pointing out how the original 1988 movie – released at the time Indian troops were in Jaffna – was “designed as an Anti-Tamil movie”.