In front of the film unit and villagers who had come to see the shooting of 'Mirugam,' director Samy slapped Padmapriya.

Samy is already known to the Tamil speaking public. He's the director of 'Uyir' where the heroine lust after her brother-in-law. When questioned about his choice of subject, he boldly said Satyajit Ray's 'Charulatha' had a similar story line. With this odious comparison of Ray's classic film with his junk presentation, Samy brought a slur on Ray's reputation.

His second film 'Mirugam' stars Padmapriya and Aadhi. From the time shooting started, Samy has been at loggerheads with Padmapriya. She first had an agreement made out that she would not do any obscene scenes, before starting work in the film. Despite this, Samy wanted her to look ultra glam in a song sequence. When Padmapriya refused, the matter went as far as the council.

The call sheet Padmapriya gave Samy for 'Mirugam' is over but the shooting is not yet complete. So she had to give an additional 10 days of call sheet. But the shooting was not yet over, so there was another panchayat and Padmapriya had to give 2 more days of call sheet.

It was compulsory to complete all shots concerning Padmapriya by 4pm yesterday. Hundreds turned up to see the final leg of shooting in Madurai's Korandi village. Padmapriya had to catch the 6pm flight from Madurai to Chennai and then take a flight today (13th) to Mumbai for her Hindi film shooting.

But Samy dragged the shooting till 5.15pm. Then he insisted on taking a close-up shot. With no option, Padmapriya faced the camera, but instead of taking her shot, Samy slapped her in front of everyone and then told her she could leave.

Padmapriya cried in humiliation. A complaint has been filed on her behalf at the Actors Association and Producers Association against Samy's atrocious behavior. Padmapriya has questioned if this is the reward she gets for obliging with extra days of her call sheet.

This act of Samy's has the Tamil film fraternity boiling in anger. He however is trying to justify by saying, "She could not act, that's why I slapped her." He further justifies by saying Cheran and Bharatiraja also do the same, don't they?

Padmapriya is receiving so many awards for her acting in Malayalam films, so Samy's explanation is a lame excuse. It is everyone's unanimous opinion that strict action has to be taken against Samy for his violent behavior.

Or else, a person called Samy will become persona non grata!