India urges Canada to remove 'provocative' smoking deity poster of film 'Kaali'

The film’s poster showed a woman dressed up as Goddess Kaali smoking a cigarette with a rainbow flag representing the LGBTQIA

India has urged Canada to remove the poster of the filmmaker Leena Manimekalai’s performance documentary ‘Kaali’ from the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto in the North American nation.

The High Commission of India in Ottawa urged the Government of Canada as well as the organisers of the ‘Under the Tent’ event being held in the museum to withdraw the film’s poster that showed a woman dressed up as Goddess Kaali smoking a cigarette with a rainbow flag representing the LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual) community.

Read | Director Leena Manimekalai stokes controversy over documentary poster showing Goddess Kali smoking

“We have received complaints from leaders of the Hindu community in Canada about disrespectful depiction of Hindu Gods on the poster of a film showcased as part of the Under the Tent project at the Aga Khan Museum, Toronto,” the High Commission of India tweeted.

The Consulate General of India in Toronto also conveyed the concerns to the organisers of the event – Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration (CERC Migration).

Manimekalai, a post-graduate in fine arts from York University in Toronto, on July 2 posted the picture of the poster on Twitter, sharing that her recent film Kaali would be launched at Aga Khan Museum as part of its “Rhythms of Canada” project. The CERC Migration’s “Under the Tent” is part of the “Rhythms of Canada” project of the Aga Khan Foundation.

The poster irked a section of the netizens.

“We are also informed that several Hindu groups have approached authorities in Canada to take action,” the High Commission of India in Ottawa stated. “We urge the Canadian authorities and the event organisers to withdraw all such provocative materials.”