Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, July 6: As the controversy raged in India over the poster of “Kaali” smoking cigarette and the BJP raised demands for the arrest of the Trinamool Congress MP for her comments on “Goddess Kaali,” the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto has said it “deeply regrets” causing offence to members of the Hindu and other faith communities and has removed the presentation of the documentary ‘Kaali.’
The step was taken by the Museum authorities after the Indian mission in Ottawa urged the Canadian government to take down all “provocative material” related to the controversial film.
Toronto-based filmmaker Leena Manimekalai shared the poster of her documentary ‘Kaali’ on Twitter on Saturday which showed a woman in the attire of Goddess Kaali smoking and holding an LGBTQ flag in her hand.
The poster led to a social media storm with the hashtag ‘Arrest Leena Manimekalai’, and allegations that the filmmaker had hurt religious sentiments. A member of a group going by the name ‘Gau Mahasabha’ said he had filed a complaint with Delhi Police.
Responding to the uproar on Twitter, the museum said in a statement that it “deeply regrets” that Kaali had “inadvertently caused offence to members of the Hindu and other faith communities.” “Toronto Metropolitan University brought together works from students of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, each student exploring their individual sense of belonging as part of Canadian multiculturalism for the project ‘Under the Tent,’ it said.
“Toronto Metropolitan University’s project presentation was hosted once at the Aga Khan Museum on July 2, 2022 in the context of the Museum’s mission to foster intercultural understanding and dialogue through the arts,” it said. “Respect for diverse religious expressions and faith communities forms an integral part of that mission. The presentation is no longer being shown at the Museum,” the statement read.
“The Museum deeply regrets that one of the 18 short videos from ‘Under the Tent’ and its accompanying social media post have inadvertently caused offence to members of the Hindu and other faith communities,” it added.
The museum response came after the High Commission of India in Ottawa on Monday said that it had received complaints from leaders of the Hindu community in Canada about the “disrespectful depiction of Hindu Gods” on the poster of the film showcased as part of the ‘Under the Tent’ project at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto.
“Our Consulate General in Toronto has conveyed these concerns to the organisers of the event. We are also informed that several Hindu groups have approached authorities in Canada to take action,” the statement read. “We urge the Canadian authorities and the event organisers to withdraw all such provocative material,” it added.
Faced with the onslaught, social media platform Twitter has pulled down filmmaker Leena Manimekalai’s tweet about her documentary “Kaali” in response to “a legal demand.” In the said tweet posted on July 2, the Toronto-based director had shared the poster of “Kaali” which depicted the titular goddess smoking and holding an LGBTQ flag. “This Tweet from @LeenaManimekali has been withheld in India in response to a legal demand,” read a message in place of the original post.
The filmmaker Ms. Manimekalai, who was born in Madurai in Tamil Nadu, said she would continue to use her voice fearlessly till she was alive. “I have nothing to lose. Till the time I live, I wish to live with a voice that speaks what I believe without fear. If the price for that is my life, it can be given,” Manimekalai wrote in a Twitter post in Tamil in response to an article on the controversy.
She, however, is not the first filmmaker to find herself in trouble over religious references. In 2017 filmmaker Sanal Kumar Sasidharan courted controversy over the title of his Malayalam film “Sexy Durga”, which explored religious divides in Kerala society. The film was later rechristened “S Durga.” Last year, Prime Video’s political saga “Tandav” was at the centre of trouble for a scene depicting Lord Shiva in a college theatre programme. The scene was eventually dropped and the streamer issued an unconditional apology. ‘Kaali’ is yet to be shown to Indian audiences.
Meanwhile, the Congress MP Shashi Tharoor supporting the TMC colleague Mahua Moitra said he was “taken aback by the attack” on her for her comments on Goddess Kaali and urged people to “lighten up and leave religion” to individuals to practice privately.
Ms Moitra on Tuesday stirred a controversy with her remarks that she has every right as “an individual to imagine Goddess Kaali as a meat-eating and alcohol-accepting Goddess” as every person has the right to worship God and Goddess in their own way.
“For me, Goddess Kaali is a meat-eating and alcohol-accepting goddess. And if you go to Tarapith (a major Shakti peeth in West Bengal’s Birbhum district), you will see sadhus smoking. That is the version of Kaali people worship (there). I, within Hinduism, being a Kaali worshipper, have the right to imagine Kali in that way; that is my freedom,” she had said. “I have the freedom to do it (envision a meat-eating goddess) as much as you have the freedom to worship your god as vegetarian and white-clothed.”
While the BJP criticised Ms Moitra and asked if it was also the official stand of West Bengal’s ruling party, the Trinamool Congress distanced itself from the comment and condemned it.
Tharoor tweeted, “I am no stranger to malicious manufactured controversy, but am still taken aback by the attack on Mahua Moitra for saying what every Hindu knows, that our forms of worship vary widely across the country. What devotees offer as bhog (offering) says more about them than about the Goddess.
“We have reached a stage where no one can say anything publicly about any aspect of religion without someone claiming to be offended. It’s obvious that Mahua Moitra wasn’t trying to offend anyone. I urge everyone to lighten up and leave religion to individuals to practice privately,” he said.
While taking part in a media hose conclave, Ms Moitra had said it was up to individuals how they view their gods. “If you go to Bhutan or Sikkim, for example, when they do puja, they give whisky to their God. Now, if you go to Uttar Pradesh and say that you give whisky to your god as prasad, they will say that is blasphemous,” she had said.
However, as BJP leaders in West Bengal promptly gave her statement a political colour and accused the TMC and the chief minister Mamata Banerjee for, what it claimed, “making a habit of insulting Hindu Gods and Goddesses for votes,” the party quickly distanced itself from her comments and also condemned it. However, cases have been filed in different parts of the country, particularly in the BJP-ruled states, demanding her arrest.
But an unfazed Moitra said, “Bring it on BJP! Am a Kali worshipper. I am not afraid of anything. Not your ignoramuses. Not your goons. Not your police. And most certainly not your trolls. Truth doesn’t need back up forces,” she tweeted.
“To all you Sanghis- lying will NOT make you better Hindus. I NEVER backed any film or poster or mentioned the word smoking. Suggest you visit my Maa Kali in Tarapith to see what food and drink are offered as bhog. Joy Ma Tara,” she added.
She is also learnt to have unfollowed the official party handle after it condemned her comments though she was still following the Mamata Banerjee handle.