HENB | Kochi | Oct 16, 2015:: The 20th International Film Festival of Kerala being staged in Kerala has placed a ban on Sanskrit movie ‘Priyamanasam’. According to reports, the movie that was shortlisted was later omitted to suit the conveniences of certain individual interests and because the movie “showcased Hindu deities”. “Priyamanasam” is the third-ever Sanskrit full length movie in this world.
Confirming the fact that ‘Secular’ Kerala Chalachithra Academy has no plans to support and encourage movies with a different and progressive feel attached with it, the state body has rejected the movie ‘Priyamanasam”, which is the 3rd Sanskrit movie made ever. It is a well-known fact that many good movies remains in the dark because of the political lobbying that governs the renowned film bodies. It is known that the Marxists, Christians and Islamists, all now opposing ‘Priyamanasam’ for its Sanskrit and Hindu fervour, as they think!
Titled “Priyamanasam”, the one-and-half hour-long period film revolves around the mental conflicts and agonies experienced by Warrier while he had penned his magnum opus “Nalacharitham Aattakkatha” (Kathakali play). ‘Priyamanasam’ is based on the life and times of Unnai Warrier and is directed by Vinod Mankara.
Heartbroken upon the rejection by the Academy, director of “Priyamanasam”, Vinod Mankara is soliciting support from genuine movie lovers to join him in his struggle to get the go ahead for the movie. He has launched an online petition for the same addressing Union Minister of State for information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and the Prime Minister himself, Shri. Narendra Modi.
Sources have stated that the director was informed the movie will not be screened at the festival. “Authorities of Kerala State Chalachitra Academy (Motion Picture Academy of the Kerala State) informed me that the movie will not be screened because Hindu deities have been shown in the movie. All guidelines specified by the Academy have been adhered to. In spite of this, barring the movie from being screened is nothing but sheer cultural fascist mentality,” said director Vinod.
It is after a long span of 35 year that a fully Sanskritized movie has been directed. The movie was shortlisted in the ‘Indian’ category of the International Film Festival, where movies from other Indian languages, with the exception of Malayalam have been included. “Academy officials have also come up with a sudden lame excuse that Sanskrit movie cannot be included in this category,” said Vinod.
“Unnai Warrier, who lived in the 17th century, spent his entire life in Koodalmanikkya Swami Temple in Irinjalakkuda and Sree Padmanabhaswami Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, knotting flower garlands. So for the very same reason temples form an integral part of the movie, along with showcasing the Hindu society during his times. The Academy, instead of viewing the movie as a work depicting native art forms, has chosen to view it in an egotistical manner,”said the director.
Mankara says besides his love for Sanskrit, an intense desire to do something to revive the almost ‘dead’ language made him think on the lines of directing a movie in Sanskrit. ”A movie in Sanskrit may not create ripples in theatres, may not excite box offices, there may also be difficulty in getting theatres for its release. Still I have been cherishing an intense desire to do a movie in Sanskrit all these years since I watched G V Iyer’s films,” he told PTI.
“Adi Shankaracharya” (1983) and “Bhagavad Gita” (1993), directed by Iyer, are the only movies ever made in Sanskrit. Both films had bagged National Awards in the respective years. He said though Sanskrit is considered a “dead language” by many, collective efforts can revive it and bring it back to its past glory.
“Jesus Christ’s language Aramaic is now used by only around 25 families in Syria. But one of the biggest blockbusters in the history of world cinema, ‘Passion of Christ’ was made in that language. Its success shows that a good movie will definitely strike a chord with audience even if it is in a dead language,” he said.
This perception and feeling proud for Sanskrit language and Sanatana linkage by this filmmaker irked the secularist lobby of Kerala and just banned the movie from the IFFK very shamefully. This is a gross humilatation of the Indian tradition and culture perpetrated by the joint Communist, Islamist, Christian and Secular lobby in Kerala.
At a time when the Sanskrit movie has received invitation for being screened in European lands and the US, the step-motherly treatment on home turf is a demotivating and disappointing episode. The American Cultural Department has also declared financial aid for the movie’s cultural enhancement.
Those who want to support the cause of Vinod Mankara can visit the following link and register their names to further intensify the struggle.
Irregularity in Kerala Chalachitra Academy
Courtesy: Haindava Keralam | East Coast daily.
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