Tag: Leena Manimekalai

Goddess Kaali Poster: SC Protects Manimekalai From Coercive Steps

Goddess Kaali Poster: SC Protects Manimekalai From Coercive Steps

By LokMarg

The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim protection from any coercive steps to filmmaker Leena Manimekalai in multiple FIRs lodged against her over the poster of her documentary film showing goddess ‘Kaali’ smoking a cigarette.

A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha issued notice to the States and directed that no coercive steps shall be taken against the filmmaker either on the basis of the FIRs which had already been lodged or on the basis of FIRs which may be lodged in relation to the ‘Kaali’ poster row.
The apex court took into note that at this stage, the lodging of FIRs in multiple states may cause serious prejudice to the filmmaker and issued notice to the states on a plea for consolidation of all FIRs in one place.

“Issue notice to the respondents. List on February 17, 2023. No coercive steps shall be taken against the petitioner either on the basis of FIRs or pursuant to any FIR which may have been lodged or may be lodged in relation to the same matter,” the apex court stated in its order.

Manimekalai has approached the filed top court seeking protection and quashing of the multiple FIRs registered against her in various States.

The poster of the documentary depicts the Hindu goddess ‘Kaali’ smoking a cigarette in a poster.

The plea also sought clubbing of all the FIRs registered against her in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttarakhand over the poster.

The filmmaker has also sought a stay of the criminal proceedings emanating from these FIRs.

Manimekalai has said her attempt as a creative filmmaker was not to offend the religious sentiment of anyone but to depict the image of a radically inclusive goddess.

She said she also received open calls for violence against her, her crew, and her family, after she tweeted a poster of her film, Kaali.

Manimekalai has challenged the proceedings against her in the district courts of Hazratganj in Lucknow, Ratlam, Bhopal, and Indore in Madhya Pradesh, Haridwar in Uttarakhand, and Delhi. (ANI)

Read more: http://13.232.95.176/

‘Those Upset With ‘Kaali’ Poster Know Little About Divine Imagery’

By LokMarg

Arundhati Ghosh, a Bengaluru-based poet and cultural practitioner, says those protesting against ‘Kaali’ poster know little about the goddess and its roop. Her views:

In the huge and diverse pantheon of Hindu gods and goddesses, there are all kinds of deities and divine forms. These Gods express a complex realm of emotions: love, desire, fear and anger. We see these attributes, and others, in them, so clearly in the stories we hear about them. There are so many such stories about Gods like say Indra or Krshna.

In mythology, we often imagine gods and goddesses in our own image, and also give them our own interpretations. Kali is the goddess of the night. She is the practitioner of good versus evil. She lives in shamshans (cremation grounds) among the dark and the dead. She is often Shiva’s consort – Shiva who smokes up. She has multiple roop – forms, faces, images.

My beloved form of Goddess Kali is naked and wears a garland of bones, weapons in her hand, a chopped head, tongue out, fierce in appearance, darker than darkness. My mother prays to Shyama Ma, the colour of Shyam, not so densely dark as the colour of my Kali. Shyama is fully dressed, the neighbourhood goddess.

Leena Manimekalai is facing outrage over a poster of her film ‘Kaali’

Kali can come in any roop, any form with any face, and we accept her according to our longing. I have no objection to my mother’s Kali, and she has none to mine. The moment we try to cull it down into a single, one-dimensional image, then it becomes dangerous.

ALSO READ: ‘Kaali Poster Seeks To Mock And Provoke Hindus’

There are different sets of beliefs and practices in the worship of Kali. The Tarapith Kali in the Rampurhat subdivision of Birbhum district of West Bengal is completely different from the Kamakhya devi in Guwahati, Assam. Ramakrishna Paramhans’s Ma Kali is different from Ma Tara of Bamakhyapa of Tarapith. At Dakhineshwar in Kolkata, Ramakrishna’s Kali is extremely mamatamoyi – full of compassion and kindness. At other places she can be aggressive and angry. It depends on which roop Goddess Kali come to you. And you accept all her forms too.

Kali is both a mother and a daughter to Bengalis. Indeed, it is more complex than simply getting upset over an image. Those who are getting so upset these days don’t even seem to be Kali worshippers – since they seem to know so little about these differences. Hence, this poster controversy is nothing but bunkum.

As told to Amit Sengupta

‘Kaali Poster Is A Hateful Attempt To Mock & Provoke Hindus’

By LokMarg

Ved Prakash Shukla, a priest and an advocate in Lucknow Civil Court, has filed an FIR against filmmaker Leena Manimekalai for hurting religious sentiment. His stand:

The very sight of a film poster showing revered Hindu goddess Kaali smoking a cigarette is nauseating and offensive. I am angered beyond words. Why is Hindu religion so easily accessible to defamation and provocations in the name of creative liberty?

Indian culture believes in cordial existence in harmony with all forms of life. We see divine presence in every form; kan-kan me bhagwan hai. One whole lifetime will fall short if one were to visit and grasp our scriptures, holy places and their importance.

To mock at such a pious belief system for cheap publicity is no longer acceptable to us. Hinduism has been a soft target of objectionable depictions of our Gods and Goddesses. This presents a derogatory or comical image of our deities in the mind of our new generation.

This is also one of the reasons that disturbs social harmony in our country and seeks to create disturbance to gain media attention. These kinds of people and entities who are flourishing on deriding Hinduism should to be taught a lesson for life once and for all. And therefore I took legal recourse against the filmmaker Leena Manimekalai, producers Asha Associates and editor Shravan Onachan.

Hindus are a non-violent community but not constant mocking of our beliefs must stop at some point of time. Where do we draw the line! I see such film promotions a deliberate act to create sensation and stir an aggressive response. I realise that they want Hindus to react but why are law enforcement agencies quiet on this. Are they waiting for a violent response that leads to disorder and discord?

ALSO READ: Coexistence, A Unifying Factor For Indians

Indians have always believed in the ideology of Jeeo Aur Jeene Do (Live and let live) but this should not be taken for granted. A strong message needs to be sent to this sort of film fraternity that our legal punitive system is strong enough to bring them to book no matter where they are. We should not wait for a ‘creeper’ to grow to such an extent that it starts leeching away the tree itself.

Any divisive force that seeks to sow discord in our society must not go unpunished. I am hopeful that there will be exemplary legal action on the film makers of Kaali so that others will also be discouraged from indulging in such hateful actions in future.

This should also not send a message that anyone can walk away after making such divisive efforts. This is also, in a way, an agenda to weaken our country by crossing the lines of our religious beliefs. But it is enough–a line needs to be drawn and if it is not done now, it will be too late.

As told to Rajat Rai