Chennai: Opposition from Buddhists would be the least ace filmmaker Pa Ranjith could have expected. His new movie, 'Dhammam' (Compassion), has invited the fury of the Buddhist clergy in Tamil Nadu and they have issued a veiled threat as well. The film is live streamed as part of an anthology, 'Victim – Who next?' The protest is from an unlikely quarter since the Buddha occupies a central place in all of his films providing an alternative narrative and nuanced method of storytelling.
While the film has received critical acclaim for its nuanced portrayal of violence against Dalits in the rural countryside, the Buddhist Sangh is upset over the treatment of the Buddha by the director. This has once again rekindled the debate on artistic freedom. While supporters of the filmmaker see nothing wrong in his depiction, the Buddhist clergy are not convinced.
A playful girl child, Kema, plays around a headless Buddha statue while her father, Guna, is engaged in farming. Standing on the Buddha's shoulders, she tries to fly, not heeding her father's plea to get down. When he says that Buddha is god and she should get down, her response is, “Buddha himself had said there is no god. Only you are calling him so.” It is shot in the background of lush green paddy fields.
“Standing on the head of Buddha to say he is not god is the height of malice and atrociousness which the world has not witnessed so far. This has deeply hurt the Buddhists and if this movie goes to countries abroad, it would invite condemnation. In many countries, he is worshiped as a god,” the Sangha said in a strongly worded statement demanding the removal of the scene with an unconditional public apology.
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“Had this movie been released in countries where Buddhism is strong, the director would have been arrested immediately and put behind the bars. We do not demand any explanation for the particular scene. Ranjith should take down the scene and express regret and issue a public apology,” the Sangha added. The statement issued by TNBSC general secretary Bodhi Ambedkar also expressed dismay at Ranjith, who had thus far shown the Buddha in a positive light, resorting to this level.
Even as the filmmaker is yet to respond, the Buddhists received support from Gowthama Sanna, author and Dalit ideologue, who asked Ranjith to make suitable amends rather than attempting to justify the untenable. In a lengthy Facebook post, Sanna, a functionary of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), said, “unbridled rationalism takes us to a blind alley. Arguing that Buddha himself was an atheist and there is no harm in debunking the hollow of sacredness, is borne out of ignorance and unregulated rationalism. For, Buddha was not only an atheist but also against unregulated rationalism.
It is easy to be an atheist but difficult to be a rationalist. Even Hindutva ideologue Savarkar was an atheist, said adding that one should be mindful of the pitfalls of unregulated atheism not channelized in the proper way. However, countering Sanna's views, Dr. C Lakshmanan of Madras Institute of Development Studies says that it is sacred upon which hegemony is built, and hence deconstructing is essential.
“Hegemony in all spheres is constructed on sacredness or holiness. This was strongly opposed by the Buddha himself. Even Ambedkar who embraced Buddhism does not elevate Buddha as a god. In Buddha, he found a political philosopher. Moreover, a child is universally seen as a god! Dhammam is a brilliant movie, it had to be seen in the context of our reality,” he explains, adding that looking for a religious angle is unwarranted here.
