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Queen of Indian Television, Ekta Kapoor, in her elaborate career spanning over a decade and a half has often faced accusations and allegations about how she defers to show women in an illuminated light. After reigning television for almost a decade, she valiantly ventured into film making. Known for her off beat taste in her work, her films are bold. However the latest controversies surrounding her film, Ek Thi Daayan are quite on the contrary.
A supernatural flick, Ek Thi Daayan co-produced by Vishal Bharadwaj, ran into controversies after the Kolkata based Wiccan Priestess Ipsita Roy Chakraverti convinced President Pranab Mukherjee to forward the film to National Women’s Commission for consideration.
Chakraverti had herself inspired a lesser known film few years back named Sacred Evil which starred popular actress Sarika in the lead role. The film dealt with her journey as a Wiccan healer. Ipsita, who herself practices Wicca, a modern pagan religion, has taken grave offense to Ekta’s venture Ek Thi Daayan for portraying women in a degenerative and lowly light.
The controversy has already incurred a legal tinge for the preposterous accusation of the film fostering the belief in witchcraft and witch hunting! Ek Thi Daayan, which definitely descends from a synthesis of folkloric and ethnographical findings, is at the end of the day a work of fiction, as clearly stated by its makers whose basic motive is to entertain.
Both, Vishal Bharadwaj and Ekta Kapoor are established film makers in their own right. While they are naturally sensitive to the issue of gender violence resultant from the rampant practice of killing women by accusing them of being witches, which claims nearly 1000 women every year in India. Such gender atrocities have clearly nothing to do with the film plot, assured its makers in several explanatory interviews following the heated controversy.
Film makers have always faced the bane of pushing the envelope of cinema in India. Given the diversity of the country, they often tend to offend someone or the other! Ek Thi Daayan has been conceptualized based on the supernatural and super sensory gathering its back research mainly from ethnic folk tales.
Evidently, the thrilling trailer also opens with a taste of how our native folk stories depict the witch – Daayan! The hypocritical dichotomy of the situation lies in the mere fact that we are more tolerant and rather appreciative of the hot Ian Somerhalder in the ragingly popular Television series Vampire Diaries. While Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series haven’t stepped down from the bestseller list in a while, it’s a point to ponder over why we cannot adapt ourselves into more desi moulds and accept the Daayan?
Vampires are as mythologically placed as the Daayans. While folk tales suggest that Vampires sustain themselves on the essence of human life, soul and blood, Daayans as pointed out by sociological studies, are cultural variants of the same. Witches and Vampires have different connotations depending on their existent period and geographical locations!
While Paramount’s Twilight Film series, starring Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart has earned a cumulative of many millions from India alone, its native twin Ek Thi Daayan is tormented at the altar of righteousness.
This is indeed the fate meted out to many talented directors and film makers in India. While crass is more easily available in Bollywood these days, critics and journalists often question why is there such a dearth of fresh ideas and interesting scripts. It is hard to essentially create anything in this country without offending people. And often the controversies drag on long enough to result in only losses for producers. Kamal Haasan’s turmoil following the unnecessary spat over Vishwaroop is still fresh in our memory. The film economically surely didn’t earn its due with many provinces refusing the release the film at all. With all its Hollywood’s style, nuanced and meticulously cared for technical details, the film barely earned its investment. Taking a risk to think out of the box has really high stakes, especially in India, which is unaffordable, sometimes undesirable and mostly pointless!
While Ekta Kapoor and Vishal Bharadwaj have taken the strong move to come up with a film of such a rare idea, it is needful that the entire film fraternity comes out in support of it. If we can watch a stone-faced vampire Edward Cullen, barely emote through indigestible love scenes with a human, enough to make the film a box office success in India, National Award Winning actress Konkona Sen Sharma as Daayan deserves way better from us.
I prefer a Desi Daayan to a Firangi Vampire, do you?
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