“Humanity is important and is beyond religion,” says Suriya as he stands by his wife Jyothika over donation row

A few days ago, Tamil actress Jyothika was dragged into a controversy over an old video. In the video, Jyothika, at an award function, had requested people to donate to schools and hospitals just as they do to temples. Several people started giving a communal narrative to this remark by the actress. Now, actor Suriya in his open letter shared on twitter stood by his wife Jyothika.

Standing by Jyothika's statement, Suriya said, "Jyothika has said schools and hospitals too should be held with high regard like one would the temples. ’Some' have taken offence. The same opinion has been expressed by Vivekananda and other spiritual gurus. Helping people is equal to god’s offerings. This is an idea prevalent from Saint Thirumoolar’s times. Those who dislike good thinking, those who do not listen to such thoughts will not know this."

Jyothika was speaking at an award function hosted by the monthly magazine, Just For Women (JFW), in which she won ‘Best actress in a women-centric film’ for the movie Raatchasi. Jyothika played a government school teacher in the film and the comments were made in that context.

Jyothika's statement offended a few who called it an insult to Hinduism and temples. She had compared the grandeur of the Brihadeeswara Temple to the pathetic state of a hospital where they shot the film Raatchasi, and made her appeal.

Actor and producer Suriya who is known for his work in the field of education said, "We would like to teach our children that humanity is important and is beyond religion."

"Whenever some people have tried to malign our names with the wrong intent, many people have shown us their support. We thank all those who stood by us. The media too handled this perfectly,” he said acknowledging the role of media in handling the controversy.

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