Maa Kaali Poster Controversy – Free PDF Download

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What has happened?

Independent filmmaker Leena Manimekalai drew flak online days after she tweeted the poster of her latest documentary Kaali.
The poster tweeted last Saturday shows a woman dressed as the Hindu Goddess Kali smoking a cigarette and holding a pride flag representing the LGBT community in her hand.
The Kaaliposter sparked outrage online with many demanding her arrest, accusing her of hurting religious sentiments.
Soon, #Arrestleenamanimekalai started trending on Twitter.
Following the reaction on social media, Canada-based Manimekalai urged users to use the hashtag “love you Leena manimekalai”instead of “#arrest Leena manimekalai”.

“The film revolves around the events that take place one evening, when Kali appears and strolls the streets of Toronto.
If you see the picture, don’t put the hashtag ‘arrest Leena manimekalai’ and put the hashtag ‘love you Leena manimekalai’” Read the filmmaker’s tweet, roughly translated from Tamil, on Monday.
“I have nothing to lose. I want to be with a voice that speaks without fear of anything until it is. If the price is my life, I will give it,” she added in another tweet in Tamil.
Kaaliwas first screened during Rhythms of Canada, a week-long festival celebrating multiculturalism, at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto last weekend.
Manimekalai, who belongs to the Maharajapuram village in
Tamil Nadu’s Virudhunagar, has internationally acclaimed films Madathiand Sengadal the Dead Sea to her credit.

Several films and shows have in the past got into trouble for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.
Anurag Basu’s ‘Ludo’ faced Twitterati’s ire for purportedly promoting ‘Hinduphobic’ content in the movie.
In 2021, Saif Ali Khan-starrer web series ‘Taandav’ raked up a row for allegedly creating a possibility of religious tension by portraying Hindu Gods in a bad light.

A Delhi-based lawyer on Monday filed a police complaint against Director Leena Manimekalai over a controversial poster of her new documentary.
“The Director has hurt my religious sentiments by showing Goddess Kali smoking which is highly objectionable and not acceptable in any manner,” Jindal told.
Demanding an immediate registration of FIR against the independent director, Jindal said that such a deplorable picture in context to the Hindu Goddess is extremely outrageous, atrocious and hurting the sentiments and belief of Hindu community.
“This deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of Hindu Community through highly objectionable video and photo from her twitter account by the accused,
Which is well circulated in social media and all public platforms is an offence under section 295A ,298, 505, 67 I.T Act and 34 IPC and therefore penal action should be taken against the accused,” the complaint filed with the Cyber Cell of Delhi Police read.

While the right to free speech (which also includes creative freedom) is legally enshrined in the Indian constitution, there is much debate over what qualifies as free speech and hate speech.
For many, the poster made them uncomfortable, especially given India’s volatile political climate and the communal tensions which are at an all-time high.
In the last couple of months alone, a statement by BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma led to nationwide protests and clashes between the Hindus and the Muslims followed by massive blowback by the Arab nations which culminated in the gruesome and terrifying murder of Kanhaiya Lal.
Given the volatile nature of the times, we are living in – when there have been major protests against all Indian cities,
Shouldn’t our directors and filmmakers exercise caution before portraying a religious figure, irrespective of the religion, in a manner which could be hurtful to the sentiments of a community?

In 2021, the Freedom in the World report by Freedom House gave India a Civil Liberties Rating of 33/60.
India got a 2/4 on every subcategory— on ‘free and independent India’, on ‘individual’s freedom to practice and express their religious faith or non-belief in public and private’, and a on ‘academic freedom, and the educational system’s freedom from extensive political indoctrination.
In 2021, the World Press Freedom Index ranked India at 142nd out of 180 countries— a drop from India’s 2017 ranking of 133rd.

The Cinematograph Act of 1952 puts into place a rigorous method of certifying films for public consumption- commercial films displayed in cinema halls and other public viewings.
It is also responsible for the existence of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
The Union government has certain guidelines in place that determine the certifications and edits or cuts given by the CBFC.
The CBFC is a much stricter body of operation as well, as compared to the certification boards of contemporaries.
In comparison, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC)’s officers merely reviews and classifies films into the appropriate age recommendation or recommends changes to the age category the filmmaker had originally put their film in.
Similarly, in the United States, the Classification and Ratings Administration (CARA) which is a group of parents, decide which movies are appropriate for children to watch.
The CBFC not only classifies films into categories, but it also suggests revisions and excisions from the media content based on government-issued guidelines.