Kaala director Pa Ranjith's arrest over remark on Chola emperor stayed by Madras HC until 21 June

Pa Ranjith has managed to deliver blockbusters like Kabali and Kaala, both of which featured superstar Rajinikanth. The otherwise aware and conscious director, recently faced mass backlash after he made unfortunate remarks about medieval Chola emperor Rajaraja, that even led to his arrest.Pune Mirror reports that the Madurai Bench in the Madras High Court has ordered to stay Ranjith's arrest till 21 June. However, the court scheduled the hearing for his anticipatory bail for Friday.[caption id="attachment_6801621" align="alignnone" width="825"]

Pa Ranjith. Image from Facebook[/caption]This filmmaker was promptly put behind bars by the Thirupananthal police in Thanjavur district for trying to incite communal and caste disharmony. A Hindu Makkal Katchi functionary had lodged a police complaint against the director, after which he was booked for under IPC section 153 (Wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riots).While addressing an audience at Thirupananthal on 5 June about land rights for Dalits, Ranjith claimed that the Chola emperor was responsible in unlawfully acquiring lands from the marginalised societal groups.However, within the artistic and intellectual circles, Ranjith has received widespread support, especially when more than 300 people backed him on Tuesday. They claimed that the filmmaker had the right to freedom of expression.The artistes have launched an online petition asking that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswamy intervene in the issue and nullify the legal action against Ranjith.