Filmmaker Leena Manimekalai has been in the headlines for her film 'Kaali's controversial poster. She dropped a post on Twitter featuring Goddess Kaali smoking a cigarette, leading to a storm on the internet. She was brutally bashed for hurting religious feelings intentionally and became a target of trolls. Multiple FIRs have also been lodged against the filmmaker and she has been summoned by a Delhi Court on August 6. After netizens made their opinions heard about the controversial picture, filmmaker Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri reacted to Leena Manimekalai calling Goddess Kaali a 'queer'.
Taking to Twitter on Monday, Vivek Agnihotri mocked Manimekalai in one of her interviews. She had 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." To this Vivek said, "Can someone dismantle such crazy wokes? Please." along with tongue-out emojis."
For the unversed, the controversy began after Leena Manimekalai shared a poster of a woman dressed in the costume of Goddess Kaali. She is seen smoking a cigarette in the photo. Along with her usual accoutrements of a Trishul (trident) and sickle, the actor playing the goddess is also shown wielding the LGBTQ+ community's pride flag.
After the controversy erupted over the Goddess' portrayal on the film poster, the social media platform Twitter pulled down filmmaker Manimekalai's tweet about her documentary Kaali, in response to "a legal demand". The Delhi Police and the Uttar Pradesh Police filed separate FIRs against Manimekalai over the controversial poster.
On the other hand, the filmmaker took her stand and said she has done nothing wrong. She also urged people to watch the documentary to understand the context behind the poster. She tweeted, "I have nothing to lose. Till the time I live, I wish to live with a voice that speaks what I believe without fear. If the price for that is my life, it can be given."
Since the controversy began, Manimekalai, her family and collaborators have received threats from more than 200,000 accounts online, she had revealed.
“Kaali" was showcased as part of the 'Under the Tent' project at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto.
