By Subhash K. Jha, IANS

In Madhavan's new Tamil film, the reference to Salman Khan is obvious.

"This is a country where you get jailed for cutting a tree but get away after cutting someone's neck... And you could be hanged for killing a deer and go scot-free after killing a human being," he says playing the title role.

Every time Madhavan speaks the above lines, the audiences simply go ballistic.
The lines make a direct reference to the cult of celeb-bashing and the loopholes in the judicial system that allow the real culprits to get away with murder.

Madhavan told IANS: "We certainly had Salman in mind while writing those lines. We talk about cinema expressing a social concern. But we never stand by people from our own fraternity.

"It's very important for us to stand united as one industry and speak about injustice in one voice, not as Bollywood or Tamil cinema, but Indian cinema. I play a crusader on the lines of Nana Patekar in 'Krantiveer'. When Nana spoke of social injustice and political corruption, the times and situation were different.

"Today I feel our cinema needs to address itself to different issues. And the concept of justice is certainly getting blurred. The murderers of Jessica Lal go free while Salman gets hounded for killing a blackbuck. It's crazy."

"Thambi" is one of Madhavan's biggest films.

"We released the film with a record-breaking 120 prints," says producer Murli Manohar. "And the impact is beyond all expectations. Madhavan is being hailed as the new reformist-guru.

"'Thambi' doesn't prescribe violence. In fact, he wants to reform the villains without aggression. Fists are passé in 'Thambi'."