Feature film on St.Thomas launched

Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi launched on July 3 a Rs 30-crore project to make a feature on the life and ministry of St.Thomas, one of the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ, coinciding with the Feast of St.Thomas marked by a car festival and a special mass at the St.Thomas Basilica at Santhome, Chennai.

St.Thomas founded seven churches in Kerala before being martyred in Mylapore in 72 AD. His tomb is believed to lie at the Santhome church.

Project coordinator Fr. Parulraj Lourdusamy showed a trailer. The 2-1/2-hour film will present the central elements of the Christian faith through the preaching of St. Thomas at different places in India With music and dance sequences, the film will provide wholesome entertainment, according to the Archbishop of Madras-Mylapore A.M. Chinnappa. The film will be first produced in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and English and later dubbed in various other languages. Earnings from the film will go to the Archbishop Chinnappa Educational Fund to provide higher education to 5,000 students every year.

In his speech, the Chief Minister said his government always supported the minority communities in the State.