Dam999

The South Indian states of Tamil Nadu & Kerala share a bond which is said to be “umbilical,” but an ongoing dispute which has recently been magnified into the spotlight by a movie titled “Dam999” threatens to stretch the cord. Directed by Kerala born Sohan Roy, Dam999 is an emotional thriller based on a century-old dam built during the British Colonial days in India with a potential of destroying 2.5million lives. Through this movie, the producers want to expose the biggest social threat hidden behind the thousands of dams built across the world which have exceeded their life span. Check out the trailer below.

The movie was set to release today (November 25th, 2011), but after heavy protests in Tamil Nadu, theatre owners have decided not to screen the movie, as they claim it is against the interest of the state. Political leaders want the movie banned and have gone as far as to say that its release would disrupt the peaceful co-existence of Tamils and Malayalees in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and could lead to law and order problems.

At the centre of this issue is Mullaperiyar Dam. Kerala’s political leaders claim the dam is unstable and will collapse at any moment, whilst the political leaders in Tamil Nadu say they will do all that is necessary to ensure that the dam remains safe, and that the government of Kerala are using the film to validate its claims on the instability of the Mullaperiyar dam.

The Mullaperiyar Dam was built during the British Colonial days and should it collapse, will put 2.5 million lives in Kerala at risk. According to the “Times of India,” the director Sohan Roy claims his film has no connection to any Indian issue at all but to the dam collapse in Banqiuo, China. It is difficult to agree with this statement after watching the trailer. For more information on this issue, we recommend reading the Times of India article and then watching the documentary below (directed by Sohan Roy).