Kaali poster row: Vivek Agnihotri takes a dig at filmmaker Leena Manimekalai for calling Goddess Kaali queer | Hindi Movie News
Sharing Leena’s quote from an interview to a publication in which she called Kaali a ‘queer’ and ‘free spirit’, Agnihotri in turn called the director a ‘crazy woke’.
“Can someone dismantle such crazy wokes? Please (sic),” he tweeted.
In an interview to a publication, Leena Manimekalai said, “My Kaali is queer. She is a free spirit. She spits at the patriarchy. She dismantles Hindutva. She destroys capitalism, She embraces everyone with all her thousand hands.”
Leena has not yet reacted to Vivek’s post, but she has been sharing screenshots of the death threats she has been receving over the past days. Defending her poster and standing up against those sending her death threats, she tweeted, “An actor dressed up as a goddess and smoking for a film is not a crime. What BJP’s mercenary does is organised crime. I live in a sovereign country and law enforcement here knows what is crime and what is art.”
An actor dressed up as a goddess and smoking for a film is not a crime. What BJP’s mercenary does is organised crim… https://t.co/7nvg65OSza
— Leena Manimekalai (@LeenaManimekali) 1657373738000
In a statement to The Guardian, Manimekalai said, “In rural Tamil Nadu, the state I come from, Kaali is believed to be a pagan goddess. She eats meat cooked in goat’s blood, drinks arrack, smokes beedi [cigarettes] and dances wild … that is the Kaali I had embodied for the film.”
Manimekalai further said that she, her family and collaborators had received threats from more than 200,000 accounts online, which she alleged were run by rightwing Hindu groups. “I have all rights to take back my culture, traditions and texts from the fundamentalist elements. These trolls have nothing to do with religion or faith.”
In the latest development on the controversy, the Delhi court has summoned Manimekalai on a plea seeking an injunction against her upcoming movie for allegedly depicting the Hindu goddess in an ‘uncalled way’ in its posters and promotional videos.
Additional Senior Civil Judge Abhishek Kumar directed Manimekalai to appear before the court on August 6, saying she needed to be heard before passing any order.
“Undersigned (judge) is of the opinion that the defendant needs to be heard before passing any order against them. Therefore, issue summons of the suit and notice of the injunction application…,” the judge said.
