A Canadian movie about the smoking of a Hindu goddess causes anger in India

The Hindu goddess Kali is a terrifying entity, andis often. } Is depicted with the devil's amputated head, her tongue laughing, and her feet on the chest of Shiva, who tends to be the husband of God.

But when the filmmaker portrayed Curly smoking a cigarette in a poster for a movie set in Toronto, it was overkill for many Indian Hindus.

The image uploaded on Saturday caused the country's online anger. Meanwhile, India's High Commissioner for Ottawa issued a statement on Monday requesting that Canadian authorities and the organizers of the festival at the Agakan Museum in Toronto remove the problematic film.

Simply called Kali, this movie records the imaginary figure of a god at night in the city of Toronto. DirectorLeenaManimekalai, who is studying for a master's degree in film at York University, states that her film goddess "chooses love and defends humanity."

However, social media users say that this image is rude and harmful to believers in the majority of India's religions under a government that is actively promoting Hindu interests. Insisted.

"SHAMESHAME SHAME" describes himself as a "proud Indian Hindu" and a follower of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi.・ I tweeted Shukura. "We need to take strict action against this shameless woman."

"Hinding the emotions of Hindus cannot be left unpunished," Hinduism said. I warned someone who commented on the username Treasure.

Indian media reported that a complaint against Manimekalai was filed with the New Delhi police.

Another Twitter user suggested that the goddess herself would take revenge.

"Mock&dares to insult the mother of the universe"is a Hindu tongue Vavadi with a loose tongue"One day, the darkness of your own soul will give you When wrapping, she shows the meaning of Kali. You would wish you weren't there at the time. The more you spit on all the light sources, the deeper you sink into oblivion. "

The High Commissioner said he received a complaint about the poster from a Hindu leader in Canada and disagreed with the organizer of the Canadian Rhythm Festival at the museum that screened the movie. Said. ..

"We urge Canadian authorities and event organizers to withdraw all such provocative material," the statement said.

It seems unlikely that any of the critics actually saw the movie. This reaction was in response to a tweet published by Manimekalai, including a poster image. It depicts Curly taking a drug from a cigarette, her eyes closed with apparent concentration, and a flag of pride in the background.

The director declined to comment, saying that York had asked her to refrain from her remarks.

However, the university says it did not provide such advice to Manimekalai.

The Agakhan Museum and the Hindu Society of Canada were also unsolicited.

Their sole purpose is to divide the people of this country and harvest hatred

in previous remarksThe film, directed by the Indian news site The Quint, said it was her contribution to the Under the Tent project at the University of Toronto Metropolitan University. As you walk downtown Toronto, you'll see Kali embracing people of different ethnicities and races. At some point, the goddess shared a cigarette with the street people and had a flag of pride, Manimekalai told Quint.

"Kari in my movie chooses love and defends humanity," she told an Indian site"What are these (online critics) faith?" No relationship. I hate their fuels. These are the elements backed by the current fascist Hindutova Principles and their sole purpose is to divide the people of this country and hate them as votes.

Curly — often transliterated as Curly — is the goddess of time, doomsday, and death, but in mythology it is also related to sexuality and mother's love. doing. Her image is characteristic of multiple human arms protruding from her body.

The unusual nature of recent incidents stands out, but this is not the first time Manimekalai's work has been controversial.

Poets, actors and filmmakers have created both documentaries and feature films. This often portrays the plight of marginalized people in the region, such as those related to violence against low-caste Dalit women. Herfilm Sengadalon the effects of the Sri Lankan Civil War made a "negative reference" to the Sri Lankan government, including "many non-parliamentary words", and was a controversy over India. It was first banned by the targeted movie certification committee.

And she is not the first filmmaker to have a connection with a Canadian who faced anger from certain elements of the Indian people. Protesterslinked to about 2,000 Hindu nationalists destroyed the setin the movie "Water". The film was later nominated for the best foreign language Oscar and was widely praised. The Toronto-based director Deepa Mehta is a project.

India also has a longhistory of official censorship of movies that were considered insulting, too critical to the government, or offensive to a particular religion.

For example, the 2015 film "Inconvenience" on India's same-sex relations and religious fundamentalism allegedly caused a "unnatural passion" and a conflict between Hindus and Islams. , Was banned.

The Censorship Commission ordered a scene with a 50% kiss cut in the James Bond movie Specter.