The Aga Khan Museum has issued an apology letter for the documentary’s poster. They have apologized, and removed the presentation of the documentary — Kaali, directed by filmmaker Leena Manimekalai — a day after the Indian High Commission in Ottawa, Canada, asked the authorities to remove all “provocative content.”
According to the museum’s apology letter, “for the project ‘Under the Tent,’ Toronto Metropolitan University brought together pieces from students of various cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Each student was given the liberty to explore their particular sense of belongingness as part of Canadian multiculturalism. ”
The project presentation by Toronto Metropolitan University was held at the Aga Khan Museum on July 2, 2022, as an aspect of the Museum’s mission to encourage intercultural understanding and discourse through the arts. Respect for various religious expressions and faith communities is an essential component of that mission. The exhibition has been removed from the display at the museum.
The museum said, “it deeply regrets that one of the short videos from ‘Under the Tent,’ as well as the social media post associated with the video, have offended Hindu and other communities.”
The Indian High Commission in Ottawa stated on July 4. It stated that they had received complaints from Hindu community leaders in Canada about the contemptuous portrayal of Hindu deities on the poster of a film being screened as part of the “Under the Tent” project at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto.
Leena Manimekalai, a filmmaker from India, was charged on Tuesday with “hurting religious sentiment” by the Delhi and Uttar Pradesh police over the poster she created for her documentary, Kaali.
On Saturday, Toronto-based director Leena Manimekalai shared the poster for her film “Kaali” on Twitter. The poster features a goddess smoking and holding an LGBTQ pride flag.
The depiction of Goddess Kali in the poster could not settle well with the social media users. The poster infuriated social media users, who accused the director of purposefully hurting the Hindu community’s religious sentiments. They criticized the inappropriate depiction of the goddess and demanded that to be removed.
Narottam Mishra, the home minister for Madhya Pradesh, declared on Wednesday that the movie “Kaali” would be banned. He claimed that the movie was disrespectful to Goddess Kaali.
“The insult to our goddess, Maa Kali, will not be tolerated. We’ll take tough measures. We’re going to file an FIR. We will also prohibit the film in Madhya Pradesh. If the posters are not removed, strict action will be taken,” Mishra said.
“Freedom of expression cannot be confined only to Hindu Gods and Goddesses while the rest must tread carefully around religious sensibilities.” “I am offended by the movie poster for Maa Kali; respect must be equal for all, and FoE should never be used to offend,” said Shiv Sena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi. See here.
Chandra Arya, a Canadian parliamentarian of Indian origin, claims that anti-Hindu and anti-India forces have aligned in the country.
“It’s heart-breaking to see the Kaali poster by filmmaker Leena Manimekalai.” Traditional anti-Hindu and anti-India groups in Canada have joined forces in recent years, resulting in Hindu-phobic news items in the media and attacks on our temples,” he wrote on his Twitter handle.
Leena publicly announced on Twitter in Tamil that since she had nothing to lose, she would always encourage those who speak openly to speak up. According to her, the plot of the film centers around the day Goddess Kaali begins wandering the streets of Toronto. See here.
She continued; you won’t tweet with hashtags calling for my arrest if you watch this movie, but you will instead use hashtags to express your love for me.
