Smoking a cigarette and holding the Pride flag, a visual of the Goddess Kaali is making its rounds in India, enraging many Hindus.
Kaali, whose name is derived from the Sanskrit root word 'Kaala' (which means time), also represents time, death, and change. Due to this, she is often depicted as being unorthodox due to her mannerisms and choice of clothing, capturing the imagination, spirit, and zeal of contemporary Indian feminists.
Signs of the times.
Super thrilled to share the launch of my recent film - today at @AgaKhanMuseum as part of its “Rhythms of Canada”
Link: https://t.co/RAQimMt7Ln
I made this performance doc as a cohort of https://t.co/D5ywx1Y7Wu@YorkuAMPD @TorontoMet @YorkUFGS
Feeling pumped with my CREW?? pic.twitter.com/L8LDDnctC9 — Leena Manimekalai (@LeenaManimekali) July 2, 2022
Due to what Kaali represents, it does make creative sense for Tamil Nadu-born filmmaker Leena Manimekalai to depict the goddess in such a way for her new film, Kaali.
"In my film, Kali chooses me as a spirit, holds a Pride flag and a camera in her hands and meets the First Nations (indigenous people), the People of African, Asian, Persian descent, the Jews, the Christians, the Muslims, and the mini-universe that one can capture across any cross-section of Canada," Leena explains to the BBC.
"As a poet and filmmaker, I embody Kali in my own independent vision," she added.
Leena, who is currently in Toronto, Canada, is among 18 graduate students selected by the Toronto Metropolitan University to create works on multiculturalism.
Her works often see deities as recurring themes in her films.
Becoming Kaali.
The visual, according to Leena, was taken when she had dressed herself up as the Hindu goddess and took to the streets of Toronto. She was apparently offered a cigarette from "working-class street-dwellers at the park around the Kensington Market" when Leena, fully immersed in her role as Kaali, gracefully accepted it.
Unfortunately, the poster has enraged many right-wing Hindus in India, with several tweeting asking for her arrest. Authorities are also considering banning the film.
Leena, however, is unfazed. Just like the Goddess Kaali, she tells the BBC the following: "We artists cannot be choked by the climate of fear. We need to be louder and stronger."
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Cover image sourced from Leena Manimekalai / Twitter.
