Amidst the raging controversy over the Mappilai Rebellion of 1921, described as the biggest ever communal pogrom in Kerala, a new bickering has erupted in the State over the names of two movies. If the authorities do not heed the warnings issued by people, chances are that the State may see zealots taking law in their hands with claims of fighting for preserving the sanctity of the religions.
It all started two months ago when mimicry artist-turned-movie maker Nadirsha announcing the launching of his new venture “Eesho” with the tagline “Not From the Bible”. For Christians in Kerala, the name Eesho sacrosanct as it stands for Jesus. There was a hue and cry over the name Eesho as members of the community felt it was an attempt to humiliate the Christians.
PC George, senior leader of the community and a seven time member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly, fired the first salvo by announcing that he would not allow the movie to be released in the name. George was equally upset that the tagline “Not From The Bible” had been selected by the director with ulterior motives.
Elsewhere in the State, the laity and the clergy expressed their displeasure over the name of the movie and this forced Nadirsha to remove the tagline. He told media persons that the movie has nothing to do with Jesus Christ or the Bible. Nadirsha also announced the name of his next venture “Keshu Ee Veedinte Nathan”, the Malayalam for “Jesus, the Lord of this House” a billboard quite common in all traditional Christian homes in the State. This further aggravated the situation as resentment grew manifold among believers.
The Kerala Catholic Bishop Council, a powerful body of bishops in the State issued a communique in which it decried the tendency among ‘certain people and groups’ to portray the Christian community in poor light through mass media. “Movie makers and artists should not discredit and ridicule a community with the intention of upsetting religious harmony,” said the communique.
Christian Association and Alliance for Social Action (CASA), an umbrella organization of all Church factions, is equally upset over the “targeting of the community’ by certain groups. “We have not forgotten what happened to Prof TJ Joseph, whose righthand was chopped off by fanatics who alleged that he had offended the Prophet while preparing a question paper for the University. They should understand that we too have beliefs and respect for our religion,” said Kevin Peter, president, CASA.
Not to be left behind, youngsters affiliated to CASA are coming out with a short film titled Mohammed-The Pocso Criminal, with the tagline “based on a true story set in Assam in 1997”.
The poster of the movie was released on Thursday with the announcement that it would be ready for public release on November 19 (which is the birthday of Indira Gandhi). The question being asked in Kerala is who would blink first.
