Thursday, January 31, 2013

Edited version of Vishwaroopam represents a failure of Democracy

Edited Version of Vishwaroopam will represent a failure of Democracy.

Firstly I'd like to show my respect to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister for coming forward and doing a press conference, clearing all the allegations made against her and doing so with great clarity. On hearing her press conference and the details about her predicaments and the predicament of the government, one can somewhat feel that they've done a decent job.

But what is unacceptable is these fringe groups (with seven lakh members) getting away with what they want. Even if the movie is utterly offensive and derogatory, they have no rights to say that the movie can be banned. They can peacefully protest, show their displeasure and tell the world that they are not what they are shown as in a movie, (if indeed they've been shown in a poor light.) They can even request the makers to have a text in the title card saying that the characters in the movie are not meant to represent any real, existent, individuals or groups and they are purely fictional, the movie is made without any intentions to hurt any religious groups. Such a disclaimer would have been more than sufficient.

The chief minister did state that these 24 Muslim organizations had threatened to carry out agitations and to prevent that the State had to delay the release of the movie. If an individual threatens to ban the movie, wouldn't he be arrested as a precaution? So if groups of men threaten to agitate, should they be feared and let off, instead of the leaders of the threatening groups being arrested? So if tomorrow all of Kamal Hassan fans or fans of Indian Cinema in general protest that they want to see the movie, 'un-edited' and if they threaten to agitate if they are not given the right to do so, will the State government accept their request? Technically fans of Cinema (including Muslim folks) outnumber these organizations and their members.

So in the future, if anyone with a group of few thousand men make some request and threaten to protest, will the government act according to their will in fear? If that's the case any political party in the country can do anything that they want, even pay thousands of people to join their protests and agitation, thereby control the state. This does not set a good example.

I also want one important thing to tell the Muslim people in the country and across the world. The terrorists in the Af-Pak region use the name of Islam and carry out the evil deeds, creating a bad image of Islam across the world. Then there are these parties in various parts of the country, that claim to be representatives of Muslims and do these silly and atrocious acts, thereby ruining the name of Muslim people all over the world. If Muslims themselves do not act against them, then nobody else can. Stop these people from ruining your name and the name of your religion, for the world still respects you and reveres you.

Ms. Jayalalitha is a person who is admired even by her detractors for her boldness and her brilliance in carrying out decisions in a swift manner. If anyone in this country can be expected to deal with these groups in a brave and intelligent manner, it has to be the Chief Minister. Please do the needful for your people, as the presence of these fake representatives can only cause more disharmony in the country. Vishwaroopam is just a movie, but what its banning or edited release will mean, is the failure of the state to protect democracy. This movie has to release without any edits and the protesters have to be arrested if they engage in any violent demonstrations.

Tamil people are known for their secular nature and let this incident not make the world think otherwise of us. Damage has already been done, but we can heal it if we tried enough.

(All the views expressed here are solely mine and have done so as politely as I could. Apologies to anyone who feel offended, as that is not my intention)

-A.Prashanth Narasimhan

2 comments:

  1. All done than said.. Damage is done.. We will never be able to see this movie...

    ReplyDelete
  2. I can only imagine the 'pain' actor Kamal sir is going through at the moment. Hope people of India put an end to the atrocity of the politicians. This has to END!!!

    ReplyDelete