Hyderabad: PETA Files Case After Horse's Death During Ponniyin Selvan Shoot

HYDERABAD: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India filed a case against the makers of the film Ponniyin Selvan at the Abdullapurmet police station in the city after the news of the death of a horse had come to light.

As per reports the film's director Mani Rathnam who was in the city for the shooting of his period film Ponniyin Selvan, a Tamil multi-starrer movie, had used horses for the shoot. The film shooting took place in the agricultural lands at  Anajpur village in Abdullapurmet mandal on the outskirts of Hyderabad. Around 40–50 horses were used for the battle scene in the film. The organizers rented the horses from a person in Hyderabad. One of the horses in the group died of dehydration and was also overworked. The animal allegedly passed away on the 11^th of last month during the shooting and was buried without any information to anyone. But the news of the horse’s death came around because of a whistleblower and the PETA had intervened and filed a case against the makers. Abdullapurmet police have booked a case against the management of Madras Talkies and the animal’s caretaker.

The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) also called upon the Hyderabad Collector and the Telangana State Animal Welfare Board to conduct an enquiry into the death. The Abdullapurmet police had booked a case against the management of Madras Talkies and the owner of the horse under Section 11 of the PCA Act, 1960, and Section 429 of the Indian Penal Code.

Ponniyin Selvan has an ensemble star cast including Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Chiyaan Vikram, Trisha, Jayam Ravi, Karthi and Prakash Raj.As of now, the shooting is in progress at Madhya Pradesh. The makers of the film are yet to respond to the issue.

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