DMK youth wing secretary and opposition leader Udhayanidhi has planned to release a short film titled “The MISA Mark”, positioning it as a response to Chief Minister Vijay’s remarks on the MISA issue. The party is preparing to use the film as part of its campaign for the upcoming by-elections.
MISA, the emergency-era law, was in force nationally from 1975 until March 1977, during which several political leaders were detained. In Tamil Nadu, DMK leader M.K. Stalin and others were arrested in February 1976.
With 50 years since the MISA period, the subject recently resurfaced in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. Ruling TVK leaders raised questions about Stalin’s detention, and the Chief Minister also criticised him. In response, Stalin released a 10-minute video describing his arrest under MISA and alleging he was assaulted in prison, but the criticism continued.
Minister Nirmalkumar questioned why, while other MISA detainees had detention orders, Stalin allegedly did not. Against this backdrop, DMK has decided to foreground the issue in the by-elections scheduled for the 6th of next month in Madurantakam and Dharapuram.
The short film, produced by the DMK youth wing and built around footage from Stalin’s 10-minute video, is intended to highlight his “sacrifice” narrative and is aimed at outreach to minority and Dalit voters. The film is set to be released in Chennai on the 25th, after which it will be deployed for election campaigning, with plans to also release versions in English and Hindi.
