Tamil cinema superstar and Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Thalapathy Vijay is once again embroiled in controversy. A Sunni Muslim organisation based in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh has issued a fatwa against him. Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi, national president of the All India Muslim Jamaat and chief mufti of Chashme Darul Ifta, has accused Vijay of being anti-Muslim.

According to Maulana Shahabuddin, Vijay has hurt the sentiment of the Muslim community through his films and the recent Iftar party. He cited Vijay's film 'Beast' released in 2022 and said that Muslims were associated with terrorism and extremism in this film. Maulana said, "Vijay showed Muslims as 'demons' and 'devils' in his films, and now to enter politics, he is showing love to Muslims. This is only a strategy to get votes." Not only this, Maulana also expressed displeasure over the grand Iftar party organized by Vijay on March 8 at the YMCA Ground in Chennai. He alleges that people who were neither fasting nor following Islamic traditions attended the event. Calling it a violation of the sanctity of Ramadan, he appealed to the Muslims of Tamil Nadu to distance themselves from Vijay.

A complaint has already been filed against this Iftar party. On March 11, the Tamil Nadu Sunnat Jamaat had lodged a complaint against Vijay in the Chennai Police Commissioner's office. The treasurer of the organization, Syed Kaus, had said that the people who attended the Iftar were neither fasting nor had any connection with the Iftar. He also alleged that there was chaos in the event and the foreign security guards misbehaved with the guests.

It is worth mentioning that Vijay had organized an Iftar party for about 3000 people under the banner of TVK on March 8, in which Imams of 15 mosques of Chennai were also invited. Vijay was seen in white traditional attire and cap. His supporters called this initiative an example of brotherhood and inclusiveness, but opponents called it a step taken for political gain.