: For some, art is an escape from reality. But for some others, like New York-based filmmaker Jayan Cherian, art may reflect reality so sincerely that the line between them begins to blur.
The challenges faced by his movie Ka Bodyscapes , which was refused certification by the censor board on the basis that it 'offends human sensibilities by vulgarity, obscenity or depravity', ironically resemble the plight of its protagonists, who struggle to exercise their individual identities and freedoms in the face of oppression from misogynist, homophobic and religious extremist forces.
Speaking to The Hindu on the sidelines of the 21st International Film Festival of Kerala, where the movie was allowed to be screened by an interim order of the Kerala High Court, Mr. Cherian says that his experience goes to show that life will be made hell for any artist whose work questions the status quo.
Ka Bodyscapes , which draws inspiration from the feminist and gay liberation movements in the state, threatens the political and gender status quos by rejecting the unblemished projected reality of Indian cinema that normalises unequal power relations between men and women, and master and slave, he says.
According to him, the protagonists of the movie subtly reverse the stereotypes entrenched in our narratives. While the the free-spirited gay painter Haris and Kabaddi player Vishnu, his love interest, do not conform to the typical homosexual and sportsperson personas respectively, their friend Sia rejects the dominant norms of femininity.
The plot is centred around the conflicts that arise in their lives due to Vishnu’s Hindu right-wing family, the misogyny at Sia’s orthodox Muslim home and the dehumanising labour controls at her workplace.
“Their story is a collective expression of the ideas of a group of feminists and activists, including Thasni Banu, Hayaruneesa and N. Shahina,” Mr. Cherian says. “Yet, the Censor Board called the film misogynistic because it has the shot of a sanitary napkin.”
Irony strikes again, as Naseera, who essays the role of Sia, had started the Bloody Napkin movement against the humiliation of menstruating women.
Although the latest judgement by the Kerala High Court has ordered the censor board to certify the movie within three months from December 2, Mr. Cherian suspects that the case will be taken to the Supreme Court. “An SC judgment will be a cautionary tale for new filmmakers, after all,” he says.
His debut feature film Papilio Buddha had also run into trouble with the censor board in 2012.
Nevertheless, he will continue to draw energy from social movements and the people around him to explore the construction and assertion of identities through his work, Mr. Cherian says.
“Although litigation is a hassle, I can’t stop telling stories, as it is the sole purpose of my life,” he says.
