Date:02/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/02/stories/2008100261090600.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

JVV challenge to Ram Gopal Varma

Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD: Sustaining the fire against the movie ‘Raksha’, rationalist forum Jana Vignana Vedika on Wednesday, sent hair-strands and nail clippings of an 11-year-old girl to the film’s director Ram Gopal Varma and challenged him to perform black magic. The bizarre step came in the aftermath of Mr.Varma’s claim to pay Rs.20 lakhs to whoever informs him how to prove black magic.

The movie raked up a controversy for its alleged reinforcement of superstitions associated with sorcery.

“Already, innumerable atrocities are being committed in the name of black magic, and majority of the victims are Dalits. Considering the powerful presence of visual media, such irresponsible attitude of film makers and directors needs to be condemned strongly,” said T.Ramesh, the General Secretary of JVV state wing.

Against the backdrop of a row of laminated news clippings about horrendous killings in the name of black magic, he said what Mr.Varma suggested in the movie climax only vindicated the brutality of the suspicious villagers.

Central government’s guidelines to the censor board forbade visuals or words promoting obscurantism and anti-scientific outlook and explicitly banned scenes of violence showing involvement of children, he said.

Apart from Mr.Ramesh and his daughter T.Sreya, those who parted with their hair and nail growth included N.Venugopal Rao, the President, B.N.Reddy, the Vice-President and A.Prasada Rao, Founder-Member of JVV. Members of the forum across the state will follow suit in coming days, inundating the director with thousands of samples.

Mr.Ramesh also challenged the movie maker to have them arrested as they were planning to pirate the movie and watch it too. This was in response to a warning that says those who produce or watch the pirated version would be subject to black magic within 3-hours-27-minutes.