Schoolboys, 'Savitris' and teenage lust: Ram Gopal Varma's PR stunt causes outrage

Hyderabad: Who is your Savitri? Please share the experiences of such Savitris, so we would incorporate them in this movie. So, Get Lucky with Savitri’. So goes the caption on the poster and the press note. Rather innocent, isn’t it? Well, no if the man behind the poster is filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma. Trust him to stir a controversy with everything he does. The ‘sensual’ poster which depicts a schoolboy ogling the navel of a woman has both civil society and the social media up in arms for its barely veiled vulgar message. The press note he released for his upcoming movie Savitri, now also christened as Sri Devi, carries the same message. Through his gimmicky press release, Varma urged people to share the details of their “first crush” in their respective lives, “which could be a woman next door or in your opposite house, or your elder sister’s friend or your tuition teacher.” He announced that he was “mad after his English teacher Saraswathi” during his schooldays. “That Saraswathi is now my ‘Savitri’. I am launching this ‘Savitri’ movie with the inspiration of those several ‘Saraswathis’ you came across in your lives. Against this background, I am launching a contest – Who is your Savitri? [caption id=“attachment_1743325” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] The poster is causing a lot of outrage[/caption] If Varma intended to evoke strong reactions in people, he has surely managed to do it; only all of it is negative. Typical of the controversial, yet clever, filmmaker that he is, Varma knows no publicity is bad publicity. Of course, attempts to reach out to Varma for his response to the raging controversy, were met with stoic silence. Women’s organisations began spitting fire at the director the moment the news of the poster became public. His effigy was burnt in Guntur. The State Child Rights Protection Commission has taken suo motu recognition of the matter. The commission feels that the poster involving a child was “vulgar and is a violation of child rights.” It also held that “violating child rights by involving children in any obscene or vulgar scenes or picturisation is a crime under Section 292 sub-clauses (I) and (II) of the IPC and punishable with imprisonment of five years or more.” Devi, a cultural activist who appeared on several television channels speaking on the matter, told Firstpost : “Ram Gopal Varma has not grown up. We are not able to train growing children on how to handle the challenges thrown up by hormonal changes. Teenagers are in a state of confusion over sex. At this juncture, asking people to send in the details of their first crush is ominous. There is a lot of difference between a first crush, infatuation and lust. Varma is trying to say that there is no difference between these three emotions. This is nothing but promoting voyeurism.” Devi asserted that if Varma didn’t learn any lesson from the raging opposition to his imprudence, there are social organizations and constitutional bodies to teach him a lesson. SCRPC member Achyutha Rao has objected to the concept by Varma. Manga Reddy, member of the Regional Film Censor Board, felt that it was impossible to curb such depictions at the film certification level. “I like Varma as a trendsetter. I like his dynamism and film-making style. There is a lot of difference between experimenting and stooping down. If the male was above the age of 18, I wouldn’t have any objection. But, if Varma thinks a 10-year-old has such feelings, he needs psychological treatment. I totally detest and disapprove of it.” Varma always laid a trap and walked into it many a time. The timing of his latest controversy comes exactly on the day when his sensational blockbuster – Shiva – is celebrating its silver jubilee year (25 year of release) that was actually his claim to fame. There was no response from Varma or his office on the matter despite repeated efforts from Firstpost to contact him .