Right wing activists threaten Sanal Kumar over 'Sexy Durga' title

Despite winning international acclaim for his movie, the filmmaker has been warned by the activists, who claim that they have been offended by the use of the word 'sexy' along with Durga.
Director Sanal Kumar Sasidharan made Malayalis proud recently by winning the Hivos Tiger Award at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam 2017 for his film, Sexy Durga. However, soon after the news came out, the director started getting threatening messages from radical right wing activists.
A peeved director tells us from Rotterdam, 'They are offended with the title of my film, Sexy Durga, claiming the name is that of a Goddess! Ever since the title was announced, I have been facing problems for it.But now that the film is in news for the award, I am being flooded with intimidating messages and some are even threatening to kill me.'
As he is expected to return to Kerala by the end of this month, Sanal has asked his family residing at Trivandrum to take necessary security measures. 'My wife will be filing a complaint in the nearest police station and will seek protection,' he adds.
Sanal has also shared some screenshots of the messages on his social networking page. 'I am getting constant threats from a person claiming to be Rahul Shrivastava, president of Hindu Swabhiman Sangh. His problem is that my film's title has hurt his religious sentiments since the word 'Sexy' and 'Durga' are used together. When I said my film has nothing to do with Goddess Durga he asked me why didn't I name my film 'Sexy Sreeja' referring to my wife's name. But Sreeja is also a goddess' name. Arrey bhai' Use the same logic here please' Durga is the name of so many poor girls too,' wrote the director.
It seems the right wing activists are not sparing Sanal's family either. His wife Sreeja says, 'The callers seem to know all the details about our family and whereabouts. Even Sanal's assistant directors are receiving such threatening calls. I am planning to file a complaint at the Vanchiyoor police station.'
Sexy Durga, featuring Kannan Nayar and Rajshri Deshpande in the lead roles, is a thriller about a couple, who elope in the middle of the night and hitch a truck-ride.
Police to conduct a detailed enquiry
Arul RB Krishna, DCP(Law and Order) has said that since the calls Sanal received were life threatening, they will be collecting the numbers of the callers and conducting a detailed enquiry. 'Based on the intensity of the threats, we will be providing tight security. We will treat it as a serious crime as there is a communal element involved. If needed, we will also seek help from the special branch. The victim doesn't have to file a written complaint, an oral one is more than enough,' he said.
When I said my film has nothing to do with Goddess Durga he asked me why didn't i name my film 'Sexy Sreeja' referring to my wife's name
' Sanal Kumar Sasidharan
I am not surprised Sanal got such threats because we have a lot of culturally illiterate people around who have only a superficial understanding of 'sexy' and Durga. Indian mythology never considered sex as a taboo; it was the epitome of the union of two spirits and bodies. The right wingers are getting offended because they consider sex as something derogatory. Durga means someone who helps one overcome adversities. I find the title very empowering, though I have not seen the movie. The same people have asked Sanal why not change the title to Sexy Sreeja. Like Goddess Durga who is worshipped because she is a mother and a woman, Sreeja too is a mother and a woman. The word Sreeja means one who is born from Sree (woman).
'Sexy' is not derogatory in Indian mythology
' Sreedevi S Kartha, writer
No one has the right to curtail an artist's creative freedom ' be it in the name of Mary, Durga or Fathima. It is unbelievable that people of a State supposed to be progressive in thought, are turning out to be insecure and intolerant. We should not allow it to advance. This was not part of our culture. It is the beginning of fascism and we should not ignore it. We should react and nip it in the bud. Sanal is an artiste who has been recognised by the world and our society should unite to support him.
Fascism was not part of our culture
' Alencier Ley, actor
I extend my solidarity with Sanal Kumar. This kind of intolerance is not just a religious issue but a social one as well. Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Kamal Haasan and A R Rahman have also faced similar attacks. The reaction comes from people who don't know the content of the film. How can they assume that the film is about a goddess by just reading the title? Are all men named Mohammed prophets? Or else let them bring out a rule that no human should henceforth be named after a god. When we have a Censor Board to certify movies, why do we have other groups interfering in the creative freedom?
This is the first time an Indian film is receiving an award at the Rotterdam festival. It is not right to belittle the achievement with such regressive thoughts.
Why assume the film is about a goddess from the title? ' Kamal, filmmaker