Congress moves court against 'Sivaji: The Boss'

Rajnikant-starrer Tamil film "Sivaji: The Boss", running to full houses, Monday attracted a second lawsuit, as a Congress activist sought a ban on the film, alleging it portrayed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party president Sonia Gandhi in poor light.

Congressman M. Satyamoorthy, filed a public interest litigation before the Madras High Court. He said the film showed the Congress leaders "in the company of the villain" and that this was done "with intention to defame the Congress party and its leaders".

On behalf of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, the petitioner claimed damages to the tune of Rs.500 million from producer A.V.M. Saravanan, director Shankar and star Rajnikant on the count of defamation.

The petition said that the villain, Aadhikesavan, has a photograph on his table showing him in the company of Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi.

The photograph is shown four times in the film, giving an impression that the villain was a member of the Congress party and that its leaders were supporting him, the petitioner said.

The petition is likely to come up for hearing Tuesday.

A city civil court had earlier issued notice to Shankar and three others after an assistant director moved the court saying the film was based on his story and that the producers had stolen it.

Dudalai K. Jayarajadevan claimed that he had discussed the story of the film with Shankar's manager in 2005. He too wanted the screening of the film to be stopped.

The film has been running successfully for three weeks.