Leena Manimekalai, Kaali, arrest Leena Manimekalai, Kaali film, Kaali poster row, indian express

THE TIMES OF INDIA (July 5, 2022)

New Delhi: Under attack for a poster of her documentary ‘Kaali’ showing the goddess smoking and holding an LGBTQ flag, filmmaker Leena Manimekalai Monday said she will continue to use her voice fearlessly till she is alive. The poster has led to a social media storm with the hashtag ‘Arrest Leena Manimekalai’. A member of a group going by the name ‘Gau Mahasabha’ said he has filed a complaint with Delhi Police. Her tweet from August 2020 about Lord Ram has also been deemed offensive by Twitter users.

In response to the attacks, the Toronto-based director hit back to say she was willing to pay with her life. “I have nothing to lose. Till the time I live, I wish to live with a voice that speaks what I believe without fear. If the price for that is my life, it can be given,” Manimekalai wrote in a tweet.

The Madurai-born filmmaker had shared the poster of ‘Kaali’ on the microblogging site on Saturday and said the film was part of the ‘Rhythms Of Canada’ segment at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto. Manimekalai also urged people to watch the film to understand the context behind the poster.

“The film is about the events during Kaali’s strolls through the streets of Toronto city one fine evening. If they watch the movie, they will put the hashtag ‘love you Leena Manimekalai’ rather than ‘Arrest Leena Manimekalai’,” she tweeted.

Ajay Gautam, a member of the ‘Gau Mahasabha’, sent reporters a copy of his police complaint against the filmmaker for allegedly presenting the goddess in a “derogatory and offensive manner” thereby hurting “religious sentiments of millions of devotees” including the complainant”. A senior police officer from the Cyber Cell told PTI they are yet to receive the complaint.
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Remove poster: High commission

Indian High Commission on Monday urged Canadian authorities and event organisers to withdraw the “provocative material” showcased as part of the ‘Under the Tent’ project at the Aga Khan Museum, Toronto. “Our consulate general in Toronto has conveyed these concerns to the organisers of the event,” said a release.