Dasmunsi Code

First thing first – I chose this title because I liked it. Mr. Dasmunsi is not the only responsible person for the current row over release of Da Vinci Code in India.

Da Vinci Code is getting released on 19 May worldwide. Already the bestselling book by the same name by author Dan Brown has created enough controversy. There have been at least two special shows on the same on Discovery and history channels. As said in this book, going against the church is not easy. So the director and producer of the movie are facing worldwide.

As expected, in India also the release of the movie does not look so easy. Various Christian (especially Catholics) organizations have protested against the release of the movie. "The movie is a false and irrelevant portrayal of Jesus Christ. It attacks the very root of Christian faith. It maligns Christ" CBCI Deputy Secretary General Father Donald De Souza told rediff.com . According to Father De Souza, the novel and the film make "caricatures of religious persons of the Church who sacrifice their lives in the service of God and the people."

Government took the easiest way to handle the problem. On Tuesday, Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi announced that representatives of the Catholic Church, his ministry and the Censor Board will view the film before taking a decision on its release. Valson Phampu of the National Minorities Commission, Assistant Archbishop of Delhi Bishop Anil D'Souza and his father Donald D'souza have been invited to the screening of the film.

What else could government have done?

One option was to let the movie release. In such scenario, seeing what had happened in past, there would have been cinema bandh andolans from certain section of people, may be some violence, some loss of public and private property. So overall it does not look appropriate to risk so much just for one movie (which will be watched only by English speaking section of public living in metros or at the max tier 2 cities. Anyways these people can watch it on DVD very soon).

Other option would have been to ban the movie altogether without giving it its due chance. Then it would not have been real killing of freedom of expression. The produce and distributors would have gone to law and the matter would come back to government and censor board. So after a circular path, the situation will be the same for government.

That’s why the middle way was the best option government got. It chose that. As I am writing this entry, news is that Dasmunsi has seen the movie and he is OK with it. So the ball is in hands of those so-called leaders of churches. Let’s see what happens after that screening.

Incidentally last weekend, three leading members of the Catholic community watched the film along with members of the Censor Board in Mumbai and declared that there is nothing objectionable in the Da Vinci Code. They recommended that a disclaimer be prominently inserted at the beginning of the film, stating that it is a work of fiction and has no connection to reality. However, officials said the government wants to first establish a mechanism to satisfy representatives of the Catholic Church, only then would it allow the film to be released in India.

Only one thing losing its sense in this whole matter is Freedom of Expression. Will write about it sometime soon…