‘Vijay should keep his word and not smoke in films’: MP Anbumani Ramadoss

Back when Vijay’s Pokkiri was released PMK raised similar criticism asking the actor to avoid smoking in films, which he did for a while in films. Again in 2011, when the poster of Thuppaki was released, Vijay was seen smoking a cigar in it, which faced a backlash. With the new Leo poster, the actor is yet again finding himself in midst of a controversy.

Anbumani Ramadoss and his father S Ramadoss, the founder of PMK, have time and again criticised Tamil film stars for smoking in films. Earlier, Rajinikanth came under criticism from them leading to the superstar avoiding smoking scenes after his film Baba. He last smoked in Karthik Subbaraj’s Petta, but after taking a drag from the cigarette, he passes it to Vijay Sethupathi’s character with the advice, “Udambukku nalladhu illa. Anubavathula solraen (It’s not good for health, telling from experience).” The scene was one of the high moments of the film. Similarly, actor Dhanush has also faced criticism from PMK for smoking in films like Maari.

Vijay is yet to react to the criticism.

Meanwhile, the actor is gearing up for the release of Leo. Directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, the film has Trisha, Sanjay Dutt, Mysskin, Gautam Vasudev Menon, and Priya Anand in pivotal roles. Anirudh Ravichander composed the music for the film.