|
 Leela Samson resigned on Thursday after an appeals tribunal
reversed the panel's decision to bar theaters from showing the
film, "MSG: The Messenger of God", on the grounds that it was a
promotional feature.
"There is interference, there is coercion," Samson told
television broadcaster CNN-IBN, adding that the tribunal, whose
decisions usually take a month, had cleared "MSG" in 24 hours.
However, the government, which runs the censorship and appeals
process, did not interfere, said Rajyavardhan Rathore, India's
junior minister for information and broadcasting.
The imbroglio has delayed the release of MSG, which stars
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the 47-year-old leader of the Dera
Sacha Sauda sect, beyond its originally set date of Friday.
The decision to release the "entirely unsuitable" film had made
a mockery of the censor board, said another panel member,
Nandini Sardesai.
"If they had to give it a certificate and overrule us, why have
a board in place?" Samson told Reuters.
But far from being unsuitable, say the film-makers, "MSG" fights
alcoholism and drug addiction, and extols the virtues of
celibacy and a vegetarian diet.
The debate went viral on social media, with hashtags #MSGinCinemas
and #WeLoveMSG trending on Twitter.
"All hail freedom of expression. MSG ... is India's Charlie
Hebdo," said Twitter user "Finger of India", referring to the
French satirical newspaper attacked by Islamist gunmen this
month.
ROCKSTAR GODMAN
The movie's trailer, which has racked up more than 2 million
views on YouTube, shows Ram Rahim Singh, complete with flowing
beard and hairy outstretched arms, glaring at evildoers before
scattering them with his fists.
[to top of second column] |
Mobbed by thousands of doting disciples, he struts and sings like a
Bollywood hero.
Singh wrote and co-directed the film, besides singing and composing
its music.
A sequel is in the works with profits earmarked to fund a hospital
and HIV research center, said Aditya Insaan, a spokesman for the
film's distributor, Hakikat Entertainment.
Even apart from the celluloid derring-do, Singh is a controversial
figure.
In December, a court asked federal police to investigate claims that
Singh forced 400 followers to undergo castrations at his ashram in
northern India, in order to experience God.
Singh has denied the allegations, but India's Central Bureau of
Investigation has filed a case.
Several groups representing the Sikh minority that makes up 2
percent of India's population of 1.2 billion have demanded a ban on
the film, in which they say Singh distorted their scriptures and
dressed up as a 17th-century Sikh guru.
"We are not against freedom of expression, but the organization
against Sikhism," said S. Simranjit Singh Mann, the chief of one
such group.
Insaan, the spokesman for the film's distributor, has denied these
contentions.
(Additional reporting by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Writing by Tony
Tharakan; Editing by Douglas Busvine and Clarence Fernandez)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
