'Intolerance is not
far beneath the skin'
Fire over Water
Message Board views are edited slightly
Name: Basu
Email: basu@i.am
Message: A few facts :
1. The "people of Varanasi" are not objecting to the shooting; a small section is. Whether this section represents the "people of Varanasi", we do not know. But we all think ( I hope ) that the government represents the "people of India" and that its views should stand. If some people in every city decide to be their own Censor Board, what kind of anarchy will we have?
2. This is only the shooting. The film is officially cleared ONLY AFTER IT IS SHOT. If it is objectionable (in spite of a cleared script), the film can be censored. Can we let the film be shot and then let the Censor Board decide?
3. Some people seem to think -- and spread the idea -- that only Hindu traditions have been questioned by film-makers. Perhaps, they should see movies like "Nikaah".
4. Indian culture is resilient enough to stand critical interpretations. It does not need the protection of political activists.
Anyone wants to dispute these ?
Name: Suresh Ramanathan
Email: Suresh.Kalpana@worldnet.att.net
Message: As I read through the messages posted on this board, I am saddened to see how obscurantism still rules in this country of ours. It is indeed a matter of shame that tolerance has given way to acute fundamentalism, and worse, that educated people hold this view. Sifting through all these messages, all I see is the seeds for a religious state such as Iran or Afghanistan being sown in the fertile lands of India. The hardliners in Iran have not tolerated the reformists such as Khatami... the hardliners in our country spew venom against a woman whose only crime was to portray reality. Obviously, the hardliners are uncomfortable with reality being shown. So they cloak it in pious protestations about Indian "sanskriti" being denigrated. Give me a break. Shameful as the violence over Water is, even more shameful is the fact that so many among us have chosen to write in its favor. I am truly mortified.
Name: Rajesh Chokhani
Email: rsc@odetics.com
Message: Where were Deepa Mehta , Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das when Indian Gov. banned Salman Rushdie's Book Satanic Verses? That is also the freedom of expression .Looks like Deepa Mehta , Shabana Azmi & Co are selective when demanding the right to express. I will support them if they are neutral in demanding the right for expression otherwise all this WATER , Fire is nothing but cheap publicity stunt with no art in it.
Name: Ebi
Email: ebi@india.hp.com
Message: I think this movie does not need
the attention it gets. Deepa Mehta
is striving on controversies to
create attention for her movies.
If there were no controversies then
none of her movies would have
become a hit commercially.
Name: VR
Email:
Message:
Freedom of expression- this phrase has been beaten and flogged so thoroughly, it is fast beginning to lose whatever profound meaning it has. Freedom of expression does NOT mean doing, saying whatever you want and getting away scot-free with it.
While making a movie on societal evils is better than the commercial trash we are subjected to on a daily basis, some key factors have to be kept in mind especially by responsible filmmakers, not those who pretend to be one.
As a religious sect, are still battling a lot of baggage from our past- case in point- the mistreatment of widows. But we are slowly but surely getting out of that. On the other hand, there are some aspects of our religious life that are simply inviolable. Sita, Lakshmi et al, these names are associated with divinity, wholesomeness and purity. A responsible artiste, one would imagine, would refrain from using said names in an inflammatory situation. Use Nandita, Shabana or Deepa, why don't you? I am sure even women with these names would have the same tendencies as exhibited in a previous film.
Also, for once, why doesn't some attention be focused on the trials and tribulations of women of other religious affiliations? Fear of an uncontrollable backlash, that's what! So why not flog Hinduism? Right?
See if you have the guts to go picture something on ills of other religions for a change. Hinduism has left everybody alone. Live and let live has always been a way of life here. It has survived many thousands of years and has seen other cultures come and go and has still remained intact.
People would do well to respect that. If you cant, take your wares and go elsewhere, please?
Name: South Asian
Email:
Message:
I can't believe India calls itself a free country.
This is disgusting. In a free country artists don't have to get
their script reviewed by the Govt. or be told what they can
or cannot shoot.
The whole Indian claim of freedom of speech is a sham. You or the Govt.
don't have the damn right to tell anyone what I should express my views on
or what my views should be or even how I express it.
India is such an insult to free speech.
If you don't like Deepa's movies, don't watch them. But no one in
a free country has the right to tell her what she should shoot.
India is only marginally better than Iran or China.
When the rest of the world is moving toward a
more open society with increasing freedoms, the Indians
choose to go backward in time.
Thanks to the damn fundamentalists. We'll soon be comapring
ourselves Iran and Saudi Arabia.
How sickening!
Name: Swati Singh
Email: swati1968@yahoo.com
Message: I fail to understand why they are making such a brouhaha of this matter, why do we want to close our eyes to what is happening in society, accept it that lesbianism, incest and meaningless orthodoxism is being practised in India.
This is just an example of male chauvinistic society who still see women in the same light as in 16th century.
Wake up men, this is 21st century.
Name:
Email:
Message: I think this whole controversy of WATER has been overplayed to a great extent. I mean what's the big deal? By giving this so much publicity, we are actually letting Deepa Mehta achieve what she wants, ie, create a hype and get people to see substandard films ! She did that with FIRE, and in spite of it being a senseless, and stupid movie it did well. She is repeating that with WATER. So the best thing would be to ignore her completely and she'll die her own death. She has already proved that she has no film making talents to speak of. The only thing one can say about her films is they are utterly ordinary. So leave her alone and a year later we'll be asking Deepa who ?
Name: Giri
Email: giritn@unforgettable.com
Message: In India there seems to be 2 sets of laws, one for the muslims and one for the Hindus.
Whenever Muslims protest against anything they feel is against them, the object in question is banned without any thinking or reviewing the product.
However if the Hindus protest, It is considered as an act against "freedom of expression".
I'm not sure if this is what "SECULARISM" means.
Name: Observer..
Email: male_c_pig@hotmail.com
Message: I am appalled at the sheer number of
responses that follow - 'let them make a movie about
muslims/christainity etc etc' rhetoric.
Truth, is as 'benign' and 'tolerant'
Hinduism outwordly seems, the intolerance is not
far beneath the skin! Hope that people using above
rhetoric do not drag Hinduism
where Muslims stand now with respect to
their tolerance. I wonder how
many people have read Ambedkar and other very Indian
authors. We are very good at 'hiding' a lot of social
ills-that we don't want to confront in anyway.
I am still appalled at how, in my hometown, right in
the middle of a prosperous brahmin colony, the sanitation
and trash removal is non-existant. And RSS
shakhas are all over this place. As great as Hinduism is,
we haven't learnt to take care of ourselves. How does it matter
what Muslims and Christians do?
Name: Rajesh Sarin
Email: sarinrajesh@hotmail.com
Message: I think the government really cant do much about this. The Indian Community abroad may like to look at themselves first. What is it in an Indian that annoys them? I have spent some time abroad and let me assure we too are partially to blame. I think we need to merge more with their cultures to start with.
Name: gopinathapai
Email: gopinathapai
Message: Hi,
I sincerely believe that Film censure board of India`s decision has gone wrong. If they have borne in mind the controversial film fire by Deepa Mehtha and The importance of Varanasi (Kasi)and Sacread "Gangama"to Hindu`s they would have with held the permission to shoot the film. I doubt very much that some Antivajpai govt force is there somewhere.
Name: Sanjay Hatankar
Email: sanjay_hatankar@hotmail.com
Message: Ashok Banker is spot on. Nobody is against purposeful criticism against one's own culture, but Deepa and crew are just bashing Hinduism to prove their secular credentials. This is a very sad situation.
Also I have noticed that Hindu Punjabis (Deepa Mehta, Shekhar Kapur, etc) and Hindu Bengalis (Nandita Das, Seema Biswas, etc) are always the main culprits of this Hindu-bashing. Before denigrating Varanasi, perhaps they should make films about fundamentalism in Pakistan (where Punjabis are in majority) or poverty in Bangladesh (where Bengalis are in majority). These so-called intellectuals amongst Punjabis and Bengalis who continually ridicule the rest of us India should perhaps look at the AWFUL and PATHETIC state of their own lands before humiliating us.
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