Swathi murder case: Heartbroken father wants movie banned

The murder of a young techie Swathi in the morning hours at the busy Nungambakkam railway station in Chennai last year on June 24, 2016, shook the whole of Tamil Nadu and the country.

Later, a few CCTV footages and eye-witnesses pointed the finger at a young man named Ram Kumar of Meenakshipuram, who was then arrested. And Ram allegedly tried to commit suicide by cutting his own throat to evade arrest. He died on 18 September 2016 at Puzhal Central prison in Chennai by inflicting an electric shock on himself from an open switchboard’s wires.
 
On the same gruesome incident, a Tamil director Ramesh Selvan has made a film which features actor Ajmal Ameer in the lead role. The film is based on various theories and speculations surrounding this case and now, a Tamil film has been made titled as Swathi Kolai Vazhakku produced by SK Subbaiah. 
 
The trailer of this film was released, and the story is narrated from the point of view of case investigating officer, played by Ajmal. The movie will also throw light on other controversies related to the murder case, involving initial incompetence and questionable methods of the police department. In an interview, the director said that he spoke to a lot of eye-witnesses and people, who knew the victim and the accused while writing the script for Swathi Kolai Vazhakku. He has also included the role of social media in the aftermath of the sensational murder case.
 
However, the latest report says, Swathi’s dad Santhana Gopalakrishnan had given a petition to the DGP that the film should be ban as no consent from him has been obtained. He also mentioned in the pleas that the movie on his daughter would bring in a lot of mental agony to the family.
 
According to several media houses, Swathi was said to be a victim of stalking. The case also sparked a serious debate on Indian cinema and how leading actors promote stalking culture in the society through their movies.

• Swathi murder case