BHUBANESWAR: Odia actor Tatwa Prakash Satpathy aka Papu Pom Pom is in the news for all the wrong reasons. In the poster of his latest movie ‘Mr Kanhaiya’ which is set for a Ganesh Puja release, seven girls are shown tied to a leash held by Papu. The film produced by Sitaram Agarwal of Siddharth Music Productions has been directed by Ramesh Rout.
The poster has drawn flak from women's rights activists and people on social media.
Lopamudra Buxipatra, the former chairperson of State Commission for Women, said the portrayal of women in the poster is downright regressive and should be condemned. “On the grounds of creative liberty, a filmmaker cannot be allowed to project women in this manner or objectify them,” she said.
Activist Linkan Subudhi, who filed a police complaint against the producer, lead actor and director of the film on Saturday, said the film and its poster should be immediately pulled down for portraying women in bad light.
The complaint was lodged at the police station hours after internationally acclaimed Odia sprinter Dutee Chand reacted against the poster. "Are women dogs? I personally disliked the poster and urge the producer to immediately withdraw the poster of the movie," Chand said in her Facebook post.
People on social media criticised the filmmakers over the poster.
Debiprasad Sahoo, an engineer, said that one should not only blame the actor who is on the poster. He said, "The complete creative team and the producers should be blamed for this.”
Honey Patnaik, who heads the radio wing of SoA University, said the regional film industry has degenerated to a level that good scripts are now being shadowed by meaningless cinema that is mostly copy-paste from other film industries.
Meanwhile, Additional Secretary of Industries Department, Nithin Jawale said the department will issue a notice to the filmmakers and producers to refrain from making such “regressive” posters and content that shows women in bad light. “We have taken note of the issue and we will send a notice to the filmmakers and producers soon,'' he said.
Actor Papu Pom Pom refused to comment on the issue.
(With online desk inputs)