English vocabulary capsule.

Missing the spirit for the body

The Central Board of Film Certification, the ‘Censor Board’ to most Indians, has done it again. It has turned down yet another film. This one, Ka Bodyscapes directed by Jayan Cherian, has the distinction of having been viewed thrice by the Board. By its act the Board has lowered its credibility, and by association that of the Indian republic in whose name it acts. It is time that its authority to effectively ban films should go. This not because of its provenance (the beginning of something's existence; something's origin.) — it is after all a vestige (a trace or remnant of something) of colonialism — but because by refusing to certify the film in question, it has revealed itself as tendentious (पक्षपातपूर्ण), driven by prudery (the behavior or thinking of people who are too easily shocked or offended), ignorant of India’s history and unmindful of the Constitution.

The narrative circle

As Ka Bodyscapes cannot be viewed in the cinema hall, and I was not fortunate enough to view it in the private screenings that have taken place in India, I must rely on descriptions of those who have watched it and on the statements of the Board that have made their way into the public domain via the media. So what is the film about? We get an idea from the writ petition filed in the High Court of Kerala seeking restraint on the CBFC’s virtual ban. We are told that it revolves around three characters. Haris is a free-thinking artist who also happens to be a Muslim. He is in a relationship with Vishnu who comes from a family of right-wingers and is a Hanuman-bhakt himself, which presumably makes him Hindu but does not bring acceptance from his family. They have a friend in Sia who comes from a conservative background and is as Muslim as Haris is. She chooses feminism and faces flak (आलोचना) for it. On behalf of the director, the petitioners clarify that the film is about societal attitudes towards individual freedom and is not a critique (समीक्षा) of religion. Finally, the film is set in Kozhikode, a city the rooted cosmopolitanism of which belies its size.

Now, what are the Board’s objections? I rely on what is reported in the media. Thus, on March 3, it was reported in The Hindu that the Board has objected that: “… the film is glorifying (describe or represent as admirable, especially unjustifiably.) the subject of gay and homosexual relationship, nudity accentuating (जोर देना) vital parts of male body (in paintings). The film is explicit of scene offending Hindu sensibilities depicting vulgarity and obscenity through the movie.” There is also recourse to the trope of ‘law and order’. It is extraordinary for an order from a public body that there is no trace of reasoning to be found in all this. The Board appears innocent of both our storied past as a people or of the Indian Constitution. Temple sculpture celebrates sexual union of every kind, which only the philistines miss. Moreover, there is no stricture (बाध्यता)against the depiction of nudity in Hinduism. Further, the Board appears to not have heard of court judgments which categorically reject the argument of ‘law and order’ as a criterion for banning a film. As for religious sensibilities, the Constitution gives an individual the freedom to practise his or her religion but not the right to be protected from any reference to it that may be interpreted as giving offence. All practices are open to scrutiny and no ‘religious immunity’ is on offer. India is a secular republic and, accordingly, no special rights are accorded to religion. Therefore, all Indians are subject to the laws of the land. Moreover, political rights are due only to individuals. It is by a strange anthropomorphosis (the attribution of human characteristics or behaviour to a god, animal, or object.) that sensibility is assigned to a whole religion. A more sensational instance of this was when Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses was banned under the Customs Act. By taking recourse to religion, the Board has left it easier to challenge its ruling.

It is true that in India religious identity is often an ascriptive marker of persons, and it is difficult to get very far away from it. But the role of public institutions in a democracy is to wean (accustom (someone) to managing without something which they have become dependent on.) society away from this practice by weighing in on behalf of individuals trying to break free of oppressive social custom so long as this does not violate the freedom of others. It is not obvious that Ka Bodyscapes comes even close to achieving the last. If religions are to be granted sensibility and the religious is the only identity a person is allowed to have, in this instance India’s religions must find the film affirming, because when forming intimate associations with persons of other religions, we seemingly recognise one another’s religion. But, actually, all this is utterly irrelevant in the context as religion should have no role to play in determining the sexual lives of people.

The CBFC cannot be allowed to get away with the pettiness (संकीर्णता) that it hides behind the fig leaf of religion. Its beef clearly is with “glorifying the subject of homosexuality”, by which prospect the Board is clearly shocked. It cannot be unaware that much of what Bollywood does is the untiring propagation of the heteronormative ideal in human relations. The Board has taken the law into its own hands as there is no legal stricture on the representation of homosexuality in any form. It has gratuitously gone the extra mile. Even Macaulay had contended himself with the somewhat blunt shield of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which is applicable to all Indians. It is a reflection of the career of cultural fascism in India that the rights of Indians of an alternative sexual orientation can be taken away so casually. The right at stake is that of affirmative representation.

There are three ways of seeing Ka Bodyscapes. The first one is the construction that it is an affront (अपमान/तिरस्कार) to religion. Of the three, it is the most simplistic. Consider the imagery of Indra’s youthful companions, the marut, as men in the sky who relish one another’s bodies. Devout(धार्मिक/भक्त) Hindus are not upset by this picture as they treat it as beside the point of their belief. The Board reveals its lack of understanding of so confident a religion when it rushes unsolicited to its defence. The second is to see it as a story of friendship between a Hindu and a Muslim directed by a Christian. The academic secularists would be made happy by this characterisation, but it gives primacy to religion, which is what the film is trying to get away from.

The most promising way of seeing the film is to see it as showing how Indians are rejecting social strictures to follow their instincts. I am entirely open to the possibility that whenever I do get to watch Jayan’s film I might find it unappealing. Many films on the same theme clumsily purvey (spread or promote (an idea, view, etc.).) stereotypes (a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.), are historically inaccurate and politically naive. However, accounts are that this one at least presents gay relationships in a self-affirming way for a change.

On other screens

In its design to torpedo (destroy or ruin (a plan or project) the project, the Board may have unwittingly done more for the gay movement in India than they care to, for as Oscar Wilde had put it, “There is only one thing worse in the world than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” And, it may have scuttled (विफल कर देना/बिगाड़ना) the possibility of Ka Bodyscapes being watched in the cinemas, but there’s always Amazon.

Courtesy: The Hindu (Concerning)

1. Tendentious (noun): Expressing or intending to promote a particular cause or point of view, especially a controversial one. (पक्षपातपूर्ण) 

Synonyms: Prejudiced, Partisan, Biased, Disposed.

Antonyms: Fair, Unbiased.

Example: The president was tendentious on his plan for the company and would not listen to other options.

Related words:

Tendentiousness (noun) – पक्षपात

2. Flak (noun): Strong and strong criticism. (आलोचना)

Synonyms: Criticism, Censure, Opprobrium, Denigration.

Antonyms: Commendation, Compliment, Praise.

Example: The Company received a lot of flak for the product they recalled.

3. Critique (noun): A detailed analysis and assessment of something, (समीक्षा)

Synonyms: Analysis, Evaluation, Assessment, Appraisal.

Example: If you do not read the editorial carefully, you will not be able to write an honest critique of its worth.

Verb forms: Critique, Critiqued, Critiqued.

Related words:

Critique (verb) - evaluate (a theory or practice) in a detailed and analytical way.

4. Accentuate (verb): Make more noticeable or prominent. (जोर देना)

Synonyms: Emphasize, Highlight, Point Up, Draw Attention To.

Antonyms: Mask, Divert Attention From.

Example: Children sometimes suffer from low self-esteem when their parents constantly accentuate their mistakes.

Verb forms: Accentuate, Accentuated, Accentuated.

Related words:

Accentuation (noun) - the act of giving special importance or significance to something

5. Stricture (noun): A restriction on a person or activity. (बाध्यता)

Synonyms: Constraint, Restriction, Restraint, Straitjacket.

Antonyms: Liberation, Permission, Freedom.

Example: The county stricture bans smoking in all public establishments.

6. Pettiness (noun): Undue concern with trivial matters, especially of a small-minded or spiteful nature. (संकीर्णता)

Synonyms: Small Mindedness, Of Parochial, Illiberality. 

Antonyms: Liberality, Broad Mindedness, Open-Mindedness.

Example: Do not let a petty grudge make you spend your life ignoring someone who could be one of your best friends.

Related words:

Petty (adjective) - small and insignificant

7. Affront (noun): An action or remark that causes outrage or offence. (अपमान/तिरस्कार) 

Synonyms: Insult, Offence, Outrage, Disrespect,

Antonyms: Respect, Honor, Reverence, Esteem.

Example: The teacher took it as an affront when the rebellious student threw a piece of trash at her.

Verb forms: Affront, Affronted, Affronted.

Related words:

Affront (verb) – अपमान करना

8. Purvey (verb): Spread or promote (an idea, view, etc). (प्रसार या बढ़ावा देना)

Synonyms: Popularize, Publicize, Uphold, Spread.

Antonyms: Block, Cease, Disapprove, Hinder, Impede, Degrade, Demote.

Example: The film was banned by CBFC as it was alleged that it would purvey homosexuality.

Verb forms: Purvey, Purveyed, Purveyed.

9. Torpedo (verb): Destroy or ruin (a plan or project) (पूरी तरह से नष्ट कर देना)

Synonyms: Destroy, Nullify, Quash.

Antonyms: Support, Establish, Institute.

Example: Her injury torpedoed her goal of competing in the Olympics.

Verb forms: Torpedo, Torpedoed, Torpedoed.

Related words:

Torpedo (noun) - a cigar-shaped self-propelled underwater missile designed to be fired from a ship or submarine or dropped into the water from an aircraft and to explode on reaching a target.

10. Devout (adjective): Having or showing deep religious feeling or commitment. (धार्मिक/भक्त)

Synonyms: Pious, Religious, Godly, Saintly. 

Antonyms: Faithless, Irreligious, Perfidious.

Example: Since the bride was a devout Catholic, Sarah knew the wedding would be held in a Catholic church.

Related words:

Devoutly (adverb) - धर्मपरायणता से

Devoutness (noun) - धार्मिकता/भक्ति