KOCHI: With Mammootty-starrer ‘Bheeshma Parvam’ becoming the latest victim of religious intolerance, a debate is on among filmmakers in Kerala on the declining artistic freedom which they have been enjoying all along.
In an article published on the Kerala Catholic Bishop’s Council’s Jagratha Commission Facebook page, it was alleged that the movie, which is already a blockbuster, has hurt the Christian sentiments.
“Use of drugs, homosexuality, alcohol and adultery were shown as key features of some of the major characters in the movie who are Christians. There is a deliberate attempt to show Christian characters in a bad light,” alleged KCBC Jagratha Commission.
This is not the lone incident in recent times, where films and filmmakers are being criticised allegedly for portraying characters belonging to a particular community as villains.
For instance, when ‘Meppadiyan’ was released earlier this year, the director was criticised for showing a Seva Bharathi ambulance and portraying Indrans as a shrewd villainous Muslim character.
“Hurting sentiments has now become a major card which is used by many for playing communal, social and religious cards. Right from north India to the southern tip, we have seen many examples like ‘Udta Punjab’ and ‘Padmaavat’ to some of the recent Malayalam releases. These are all indications of a polarised society. This also gives us a feeling that everybody is insecure. All these are not good signs,” said film critic C S Venkateswaran.
When asked about his response to the allegations raised by KCBC, Amal Neerad the director of ‘Bheeshma Parvam’ said he would not want to respond on the issue.
Amal said they have shown a disclaimer at the beginning of the movie that all characters depicted in the movie are fictitious and do not have any resemblance to any persons dead or alive.
Meanwhile, the director of ‘Meppadiyan’, Vishnu Mohan, said the criticism against his movie was unwarranted for several reasons.
“In the initial days of theatre release, my movie was in discussion forums for the wrong reason. Instead of debating and discussing the merits and demerits of the movie, the discussions were going on like whether my movie was propagating the Hindutva agenda. However, when the movie was released online, many people came forward, brushing aside the allegations and supporting us,” said Vishnu.
Meanwhile, director Unnikrishnan B said films will depict all layers of life.
“We cannot make a movie by staying within the walls of the prison house of political correctness. We cannot make movies by using the lights provided by people who are representatives of moral policing. The filmmakers should stick to the morality structure and deal with sensitive issues carefully. That does not mean you can allow these sort of interventions affecting your creativity,” he said.
Venkatsewaran said the efforts for religious balancing will soon become a burden on filmmakers.
“When the filmmaker becomes conscious or tries to compromise the actual story line as part of any sort of ‘balancing’ act, the natural form of expression will be missed in the movie,” he added.