The Godfather has been knocked off the top spot as the highest-rated film on IMDb by Indian courtroom drama Jai Bhim.
It leads with a ranking of 9.6 out of 10. The film, directed by TJ Ganavel and featuring top Tamil star Saravanan Sivakumar, was released on November 2 on Amazon Prime Video in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi, and is based on a true story.
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A synopsis for the film reads: “A pregnant woman from a primitive tribal community, searches desperately for her husband, who is missing from police custody. A High Court advocate rises in support to find her husband and seek justice for them.”
The film also beats prolific titles such as The Shawshank Redemption, The Dark Knight, and 12 Angry Men.
In spite of its success, Jai Bhim has been met with controversy, and Sivakumar has been provided with police protection at his home following intel reports of threats.
I am really heartbroken after watching #JaiBhim, nothing against actor or anyone but felt really bad, there is a scene in the film where a person speaks Hindi and Prakash Raj slaps him and tells him to speak in Tamil
Honestly this kind of scene was not needed….Hope they cut it
— Rohit Jaiswal (@rohitjswl01) November 1, 2021
The first wave of backlash was caused by a scene in the film in which a cop slaps another character for speaking in Hindi instead of Tamil. The line prompted some viewers to take to social media to brand the film “anti-Hindi.”
The film has also been accused of tarnishing the Vanniyar community, which is situated in the north of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The accusations have resulted in Amazon, Sivakumar and Ganavel being served with a legal notice for the film’s messaging. Open threats to Suriya were received following the notice being issued.