Surya's Bodhi Dharman depiction in 7aam Arivu sparks controversy
News
oi-Prakash
By Ramchander
Being
a
well-made
scientific
fiction
in
the
Tamil
film
industry,
Surya's
7aam
Arivu
has
sparked
a
controversy
regarding
the
portrayal
of
Bodhi
Dharman,
a
Pallava
prince,
who
migrated
to
China
and
became
the
Shaolin
master.
The
followers
of
Buddhism
have
raised
objections
over
the
facts
provided
about
the
monk
in
the
movie.
Buddhist
Teacher
Babu
T
Raghu
has
said
that
the
depiction
of
Bodhi
Dharman
in
7aam
Arivu
is
inaccurate.
For
an
instance,
the
monk
travelled
to
China,
when
he
was
150-year-old
but
in
the
recently
released
film,
it
has
been
portrayed,
as
if
he
left
Kanchipuram
at
his
young
age
with
six-pack
abs.
He
further
claims
that
it
is
an
insult
to
their
community
and
they
have
objected
those
scenes.
The
Tamil
Nadu
Theological
Seminary
professor
Bikku
Bodhi
Bala
says
that
it
is
believed
that
Bodhi
Dharman
is
also
one
of
the
seven
monks,
who
left
to
China
from
Tamil
Nadu
between
2nd
and
13th
century.
However,
he
refuses
the
movie's
claims
that
he
died
in
China.
According
to
him,
he
was
raised
from
the
dead
after
he
was
killed
in
China.
In
fact,
Bodhi
Dharman
breathed
his
last
in
Tamil
Nadu.
Meanwhile,
historians
claim
that
Bodhi
Dharman
was
not
known
for
his
expertise
on
medical
science
but
for
his
skills
in
martial
arts.
And
also
he
left
Kanchipuram
to
propagate
the
Buddhism
but
7aam
Arivu
glorifies
that
he
was
a
Tamilan
and
it
does
not
talk
about
his
contribution
to
their
community.
All
in
all,
irrespective
of
whether
Bodhi
Dharman's
depiction
is
accurate
or
false,
the
audience
have
loved
Surya's
performance
as
the
monk
in
the
first
twenty
minutes
of
7aam
Arivu.