Vidarbha farmers condemn 'Peepli Live', burn Aamir Khan's effigy

A group of farmers in Vidarbha region held protests against Aamir Khan's Peepli Live which according to them was an attempt to belittle the cause of farmers in the region that has witnessed a number of suicides in the past.

On the occasion of Independence Day, farm widows and farmers took to the streets in Yavatmal, which was the epicentre of Vidarbha farmers suicides, about 160 km near here in Western Vidarbha region.

They demanded immediate ban on the screening of the movie objecting to the way the issue of farmers suicide has been depicted in the film.

Khan's effigy was also burnt as a mark of protest.

Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti president Kishore Tiwari, who led the protests, said in a press release today that the protests will continue.

"It is an insult to poor farmers of Vidarbha who have been victims of globalisation and wrong policies of the state. We will not tolerate further as this movie revolves around a debt ridden farmer committing suicide for the sake of compensation, trivialising the issue and is far from reality," Tiwari said.

"Producer Khan should have consulted some experts before
finalising the script," Tiwari said, adding the movie has put a question mark on the farmers' widows demanding compensation.

"Farmers in any region of India commit suicide due to the wrong policies of the government, not because family members can live off the compensation they would get," the release from Tiwari added.