There is no doubt that the state of Tamil Nadu is under some kind of turmoil - be it the indefinite strike by the Tamil film industry, the Sterlite protests, the farmer issues or the Cauvery dispute. And while the entire film industry gathered in a 'silent protest' for the Cauvery issue on Sunday morning, actor Simbu decided to go against the grain and 'break his silence' by calling for a press conference the same evening, where a bizarre series of events unfolded.
The actor began by establishing a link between the problems in TN to Late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's death. The actor said that ever since her death, the state has seen nothing but trouble in some form or the other. "No other CM's death has occurred under such mysterious circumstances," the actor declared, adding, "Until the truth of her death comes out, there will be no peace in the state." A statement many might have agreed with, had it not been for the fact that Simbu further explained things by drawing an analogy between this and pei (ghost) films in Kollywood. "In Tamil cinema, horror movies are common. In such movies, the ghost will not trouble just anyone who comes to the house that it haunts. It will only trouble someone when there has been some kind of injustice meted out to them," he said, leaving a crowd of journalists bewildered.
In between his passionate speech, Simbu seemed to have lost track of the issues he was talking about, more than once. He had to constantly check with a prompter, on what he was talking about, perhaps because there was so much to discuss. Talking about the IPL issue on whether the matches should be conducted in Chennai given the turmoil in the state, Simbu seemed to face a lot of confusion on who it was that stated that players wear black badges in protest. He wondered out loud if it was his father who made the statement, or if it was Kamal Haasan or Rajinikanth who said it. The actor finally decided that it was Abdul Kalam. But upon coming to terms with the fact that Kalam was no more, the actor quickly added, "His aatma (soul) said it while meditating." Having worked himself up into a fit of rage by now, the actor unnecessarily yelled at the crowd, "It doesn't matter who is talking. They are speaking for Tamilians."
Talking about the all-important issue at hand, the Cauvery dispute, Simbu appealed to everyone in both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to treat each other like members of one big family. Then referring to Cauvery as the mother, he went on call all mothers in Karnataka, to spare a thought for her sons and daughters after feeding her own family, all the while insisting that Tamilians are not "begging for water." An emotional Simbu appealed, "On April 11, between 3 pm and 6 pm, I request every person in Karnataka to film a video of them giving a tumbler of water to a Tamilian and put it up on all social media with the hashtag #uniteforchange. And if such videos are not posted, it is okay. We will understand that you don't want to give us water." Switching to rhyming words much like his father, he said, "Kanneer kooda thanneer dhan (even tears are water), equating the tears of Karnataka's mothers to water for Tamil Nadu."
Simbu then went on to say that he is saying all these things, in what we hope was a sarcastic dig, because he wanted some "fame". "I too want to earn some money and I too want a fan following. Please make me a periya aalu," he said.
After a member of the media asked him a question, Simbu replied on a totally unrelated note, "If a crab bites me, I will pick it up and throw it back in the water. It is the duty of the crab to bite. It is my duty as a Tamilian to protect the crab."
As the audience burst into applause at this "punch dialogue", the frenzied actor, walked off angrily, bringing the seemingly hilarious proceedings to an abrupt end.
Watch the full video here: