A filmmaker from Toronto claims that Hindu fundamentalists in India have threatened her with murder and abused her after she showed the goddess Kali smoking a cigarette.
Director Leena Manimekalai has reportedly been accused of insulting religious emotions by politicians, diplomats, and local police after the image from her independent film “Kaali” appeared on a billboard.
The film, which employs a different way of spelling the goddesses’ names in English, was one of 18 pieces on multiculturalism on display at the Aga Khan Museum as part of Toronto Metropolitan University’s “Under the Tent” exhibition. Watch Thor Love And thunder 2022
It’s referred to as a “performance documentary” and, according to Manimekalai, imagines the Hindu goddess “descending onto a lesbian female filmmaker” who sees Canada and its diverse population through her eyes.
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“She has a wild side. At the patriarchy, she spits. She deconstructs Hindutva (an ideology that seeks to transform secular India into a Hindu nation). She annihilates capitalism. She wraps a thousand hands around each person.”
Manimekalai stated in an email that Kali “chooses love” and takes a cigarette from “working-class street dwellers.”
In a promotional image, the filmmaker is depicted as the Hindu goddess Kali, who is smoking and holding up a rainbow flag, a sign of the LGBTQ community.
Manimekalai, a graduate fellow at Toronto’s York University and a native of the Tamil Nadu region of southern India, published the poster on Twitter on Saturday. It quickly gained popularity and sparked angry replies from some Indian social media users, many of whom demanded her arrest. Within days, the hashtag #ArrestLeenaManimekalai had been used in tens of thousands of tweets.
The Indian High Commission in Canada’s capital, Ottawa, requested the government of that nation to “take action” against what it described as a “disrespectful depiction” in a statement released on Monday. After showing a portion of the movie over the weekend, the Aga Khan Museum declared that Manimekalai’s work was “no longer being presented.”
The museum issued a statement on Tuesday saying it “truly regrets that one of the 18 short movies from ‘Under the Tent’ and its accompanying social media post have unintentionally offended members of the Hindu and other faith communities.”
Toronto Metropolitan University disassociated itself from the movie as well, apologizing for “offending” anyone.
The school further stated in a statement: “We are devoted to equity, diversity, and inclusion while also recognizing the plurality of views and points of view in our society.”
Manimekalai voiced her dissatisfaction with the two organizations, charging that they had “traded out academic independence and creative freedom to save their skin.”
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It is disappointing to see these institutions working in a sovereign nation like Canada submit to the persistent suppression of free speech and the global imposition of Hindutva’s totalizing ideology.
On TV debates throughout the week, the argument that Manimekalai’s portrayal had insulted a sacred person was made. Additionally, Indian lawmakers have voiced their opinions. Vinit Goenka, a spokesman for the nation’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), described the image as a “insult to all Indians.” Chandra Arya, a politician of Indian descent from Canada, too expressed worry, noting on Twitter that it had been “difficult” to see the poster.
CNN station CNN-News18 reports that police in Delhi and the state of Uttar Pradesh have both officially complained about the director, despite Manimekalai’s claim that she has not received any official notices.
I’m overjoyed to announce that my most recent movie will be shown today as part of “Rhythms of Canada” at the @AgaKhanMuseum.
Abuse in plenty
The director attributes the hostile online reaction to a “mercenary troll army” of right-wing nationalists and BJP sympathizers. She said that members of her film team had been doxed and that online harassment had also been directed at her family and friends.
Manimekalai alleges that thousands of social media profiles have engaged in “hatemongering” against her. The director provided CNN with dozens of screenshots that seem to depict threats of violence, including explicit death threats.
One site where 10,000 years of Indian art history can be found is an open-source encyclopedia.
Mahant Raju Das, a Hindu religious leader from the state of Uttar Pradesh, released a video in which he threatens to behead the director. In the meantime, on Thursday, The Times of India reported that authorities in Tamil Nadu had detained a lady over a different video that contained threats against the director.
Insensitive portrayals of Hindu deities have come under fire in an increasing number of cases, from Nestlé pulling the wrappers from its KitKat chocolate bars to Rihanna receiving criticism for appearing topless while wearing a pendant of the god Ganesha.
In India, people revere Kali, the Hindu goddess of death, time, and the end of the world. She is frequently pictured as blue or black, having a large tongue and many arms, and is Shiva’s bride.
At a Hindu temple in Kadaloor, Tamil Nadu, India, there is a huge statue of the Hindu goddess Kail.
At a Hindu temple in Kadaloor, Tamil Nadu, India, there is a huge statue of the Hindu goddess Kail. Getty Images/Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto
Manimekalai claims that her perception of the deity is compatible with how she has portrayed her.
She continued, describing the Kali that “I grew up with and… have embodied in the film,” as being the Kali that “she eats meat cooked in goat’s blood, drinks (the alcoholic beverage) arrack, smokes beedi, and dances wild(ly)” in rural Tamil Nadu, the state from whence she is originally from.
Manimekalai intends to finish the director’s cut of “Kaali” in preparation for a film festival screening.
I’ll keep creating art, she declared.
Due to a contentious Hindu deity billboard, the filmmaker has received death threats.
A filmmaker from Toronto claims that Hindu fundamentalists in India have threatened her with murder and abused her after she showed the goddess Kali smoking a cigarette.
Director Leena Manimekalai has reportedly been accused of insulting religious emotions by politicians, diplomats, and local police after the image from her independent film “Kaali” appeared on a billboard.
The film, which employs a different way of spelling the goddesses’ names in English, was one of 18 pieces on multiculturalism on display at the Aga Khan Museum as part of Toronto Metropolitan University’s “Under the Tent” exhibition.
It’s referred to as a “performance documentary” and, according to Manimekalai, imagines the Hindu goddess “descending onto a lesbian female filmmaker” who sees Canada and its diverse population through her eyes.
The Kashmir Files, India’s newest film office sensation, highlights widening religious divisions
“She has a wild side. At the patriarchy, she spits. She deconstructs Hindutva (an ideology that seeks to transform secular India into a Hindu nation). She annihilates capitalism. She wraps a thousand hands around each person.”
Manimekalai stated in an email that Kali “chooses love” and takes a cigarette from “working-class street dwellers.”
In a promotional image, the filmmaker is depicted as the Hindu goddess Kali, who is smoking and holding up a rainbow flag, a sign of the LGBTQ community.
Manimekalai, a graduate fellow at Toronto’s York University and a native of the Tamil Nadu region of southern India, published the poster on Twitter on Saturday. It quickly gained popularity and sparked angry replies from some Indian social media users, many of whom demanded her arrest. Within days, the hashtag #ArrestLeenaManimekalai had been used in tens of thousands of tweets.
The Indian High Commission in Canada’s capital, Ottawa, requested the government of that nation to “take action” against what it described as a “disrespectful depiction” in a statement released on Monday. After showing a portion of the movie over the weekend, the Aga Khan Museum declared that Manimekalai’s work was “no longer being presented.”
The museum issued a statement on Tuesday saying it “truly regrets that one of the 18 short movies from ‘Under the Tent’ and its accompanying social media post have unintentionally offended members of the Hindu and other faith communities.”
Toronto Metropolitan University disassociated itself from the movie as well, apologizing for “offending” anyone.
The school further stated in a statement: “We are devoted to equity, diversity, and inclusion while also recognizing the plurality of views and points of view in our society.”
Manimekalai voiced her dissatisfaction with the two organizations, charging that they had “traded out academic independence and creative freedom to save their skin.”
Clothing choices in modern India indicate a widening religious gap
It is disappointing to see these institutions working in a sovereign nation like Canada submit to the persistent suppression of free speech and the global imposition of Hindutva’s totalizing ideology.
On TV debates throughout the week, the argument that Manimekalai’s portrayal had insulted a sacred person was made. Additionally, Indian lawmakers have voiced their opinions. Vinit Goenka, a spokesman for the nation’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), described the image as a “insult to all Indians.” Chandra Arya, a politician of Indian descent from Canada, too expressed worry, noting on Twitter that it had been “difficult” to see the poster.
CNN station CNN-News18 reports that police in Delhi and the state of Uttar Pradesh have both officially complained about the director, despite Manimekalai’s claim that she has not received any official notices.
I’m overjoyed to announce that my most recent movie will be shown today as part of “Rhythms of Canada” at the @AgaKhanMuseum.
Abuse in plenty
The director attributes the hostile online reaction to a “mercenary troll army” of right-wing nationalists and BJP sympathizers. She said that members of her film team had been doxed and that online harassment had also been directed at her family and friends.
Manimekalai alleges that thousands of social media profiles have engaged in “hatemongering” against her. The director provided CNN with dozens of screenshots that seem to depict threats of violence, including explicit death threats.
One site where 10,000 years of Indian art history can be found is an open-source encyclopedia.
Mahant Raju Das, a Hindu religious leader from the state of Uttar Pradesh, released a video in which he threatens to behead the director. In the meantime, on Thursday, The Times of India reported that authorities in Tamil Nadu had detained a lady over a different video that contained threats against the director.
Insensitive portrayals of Hindu deities have come under fire in an increasing number of cases, from Nestlé pulling the wrappers from its KitKat chocolate bars to Rihanna receiving criticism for appearing topless while wearing a pendant of the god Ganesha.
In India, people revere Kali, the Hindu goddess of death, time, and the end of the world. She is frequently pictured as blue or black, having a large tongue and many arms, and is Shiva’s bride.
At a Hindu temple in Kadaloor, Tamil Nadu, India, there is a huge statue of the Hindu goddess Kail.
At a Hindu temple in Kadaloor, Tamil Nadu, India, there is a huge statue of the Hindu goddess Kail. Getty Images/Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto
Manimekalai claims that her perception of the deity is compatible with how she has portrayed her.
She continued, describing the Kali that “I grew up with and… have embodied in the film,” as being the Kali that “she eats meat cooked in goat’s blood, drinks (the alcoholic beverage) arrack, smokes beedi, and dances wild(ly)” in rural Tamil Nadu, the state from whence she is originally from.
Manimekalai intends to finish the director’s cut of “Kaali” in preparation for a film festival screening.
I’ll keep creating art, she declared.