Filmmaker Divya Bharathi Faces Intimidation From Police After Release Of Film Trailer On Cyclone Ockhi

A year after the release of ‘Kakkoos’, and the resultant controversy that was associated with it, documentary filmmaker, Divya Bharathi has once again come under police radar. Just days after the release of the trailer for her new documentary film, Orutharum Varela, on June 28, Divya has alleged that she has been receiving threats and police visits at her workplace and residence in Madurai. The film revolves around the politics behind Cyclone Ockhi, which claimed the lives of hundreds of fishermen in Tamil Nadu and Kerala in 2017.

Divya Bharathi, who is known for her hard-hitting documentary films which question the government’s functionality, took to Facebook to talk about what has been happening with her ever since the trailer was released. According to The News Minute, her husband, Gopal said that a group of 15 officials came to her house in Madurai on July 2, demanding to know her whereabouts.

Divya Bharathi Faces Police Intimidation

In one of the Facebook posts, Bharathi informed that 13 lady police officers who were not in their uniforms, came to her house. Additionally, one, inspector Venkatesh searched the home unwarranted while her family was subjected to intimidation.

Police intimidation did not end there as on Tuesday, July 3, a group of police officers stopped her vehicle in front of the Madurai District Court insisting her to come with them. The police officer was later found to be from Salem and not Madurai. They not only stopped her vehicle but tried to seize its keys as well.

According to The News Minute, Adhavan Deetchanya, General Secretary, Tamil Nadu Murpokku Ezhuthalar Kalaingargal Sangam said, “Divya Bharathi has been vocal on the happenings in Thoothukudi, and her documentary is about Ockhi, another controversial event. The officials from Salem could indicate that perhaps the Government is jumping the gun and being cautious.” Reportedly, she has also applied for an anticipatory bail.

Orutharum Varela, A Film About Cyclone Ockhi

Even though it is still unclear as to why the police might want to intervene and question the filmmaker, but Facebook posts from others suggest the fact that it has something to do with her new film, Orutharum Varela (Nobody Came). In her latest post, Divya calls out the Tamil Nadu government for its “illegal” or “unlawful” activities.

Bharathi, while talking to the Times Of India, said that her new movie talks about the Indian Meteorological Department’s delay in alerting the fishermen about the storm and how the Centre too had let them down. The three minutes and 25-seconds-long trailer attracted some threat and hate comments as well.

In a similar situation, her previous film, ‘Kakkoos’ which talked about the plight of manual scavengers and open defecation faced a heavy backlash. Not only that, but the 27-year-old filmmaker also received death and rape threats which forced her to flee from Tamil Nadu.

For this movie, Divya travelled to Nagapattinam, Cuddalore, Tuticorin, Pudukottai and parts of Kerala to shoot the plight of families of those who drowned in the sea. The trailer which now has over 21,000 views opens with the bone-chilling visuals of women wailing and crying over the deaths of the male members of the family. Divya believes that this new film is going to stir up more controversy than the previous one.

Her earlier work, Kakkoos, a Tamil documentary on manual scavenging which literally translates to ‘Toilet’ in English, was released on YouTube on 14 June 2017

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