Hindu right wing organisation wants Marathi film withdrawn from IFFI

Panaji: A right wing organisation has objected to a Marathi film to be screened at IFFI, which begins here tomorrow, alleging that its title is misleading and hurts the religious sentiments of Hindus. The Hindu Janjagruti Samiti (HJS) has demanded withdrawl of screening of Marathi film ‘Elizabeth Ekadashi’, directed by Paresh Mokashi and written by Madhugandha Kulkarni, from the Indian Panorama section at IFFI. [caption id=“attachment_1810441” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Paresh Mokashi. Image courtesy: Facebook[/caption] The movie tells the story of a child and his set of friends living in Pandharpur, a temple town in Maharashtra. The HJS has submitted a memorandum to the IFFI organisers saying that ‘Ekadashi’ is a ’tithi’ (eleventh day of the lunar month of Hindu Calendar) related to Hindu God Vishnu. There are 24 Ekadashis in a year, each having a particular spiritual significance. The film’s title ‘Elizabeth Ekadashi’ is misleading and denigration of the ‘Ekadashi’, which hurts the religious sentiments of Hindus, HJS convener Dr Manoj Solanki alleged. Meanwhile, Damodar Naik, the vice chairman of IFFI’s nodal agency Entertainment Society of Goa, said film selection was the prerogative of the Directorate of Film Festival (DFF). He refused to comment on whether the movie would be withdrawn. “There are several things which are not in our hand. DFF has been selecting the films and it is for them to take the call,” Naik said. PTI