IFFI 2017: Six Hindu groups submit petition against screening of S Durga

Days after the Kerala High Court ordered that Malayalam film S Durga be screened at the ongoing International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa, half a dozen Hindu organisations submitted a petition to the organisers requesting them not to show the film. [caption id=“attachment_4157739” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  A poster for S Durga. Image from Facebook/@sexydurgamovie[/caption] The petition, handed over to IFFI Director Sunit Tandon, said the screening of the controversial movie should be stalled to maintain law and order. The IFFI 2017, which kicked off on 20 November, will conclude on 28 November. “It is clear that the film has targeted the Hindu Goddess Durga and denigrated her and in the process hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus. The film is also likely to create law and order situation,” the petition signed by various organisations, including members of Sanatan Sanstha and Gomantak Mandir Mahasangh, reads. The Kerala High Court recently gave a go-ahead for the screening of the film during the ongoing IFFI, while the festival organisers have asked the filmmaker Sanal Kumar Sasidharan to submit the censored version of the film. “The court may have given the direction to show this film. We respect the court but you can’t ignore the sentiments of crores of Hindus who worship Goddess Durga,” the petition reads. In another development, the uncensored version of the film will be screened before the Jury on 27 November. “We have been informed by IFFI that the film will be screened at 6 pm on Monday,” the jury member said on the condition of anonymity. The screening for the 10-member jury will be held at the festival grounds in Panaji. Mumbai-based director and screenwriter Ruchi Narain also confirmed the screening of the film for the jury. “We have been informed about the screening details by IFFI,” she told IANS. Referring to the controversy surrounding Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s upcoming film Padmavati, the petition said, “Currently issues are going on regarding ‘Padmavati’ film. So showing this film at IFFI will add to the controversies. Though there is freedom of art, it can’t be at the cost of hurting of feelings of the majority community.” S Durga, which was earlier titled Sexy Durga, narrates the horrifying experience of a hitchhiking couple. The film, a road movie that follows the horrifying experience of two hitchhikers, a man and a woman, at the hands of two men in the dead of the night, won the Hivos Tiger Award in the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2017.