The furious Catholic forum has come down heavily against the actor who plans to gift painting to Amrita Arora
Catholics in the city have come down heavily on actor Salman Khan for the ‘Last Supper’ painting which he plans to gift to actress Amrita Arora. The Catholic Forum has decided to hold demonstrations at Amrita Arora’s house at Bandra, if Salman Khan’s painting, a spoof on the ‘Last Supper’ is placed at her residence, as reported in one of the city newspapers on Sunday.
"How can someone insult religious paintings like the Last Supper? The Catholic Secular Forum (CSF) takes strong exception to reports appearing in the media that Salman Khan is painting the holy picture, but instead of Jesus Christ and his Apostles he is to paint Amrita Arora’s family members. There is also speculation over who will sit at the center of the table, in the place of Jesus. It may be mentioned that Da Vinci Code and other similar spoofs had put forth the idea that the one at the side of Christ was Mary Magdalene, a woman with whom Jesus was alleged to have fathered a child. The holy picture is revered by Catholics and hence we have decided to protest against this painting," said Joseph Dias, General Secretary of Catholic Secular Forum (CSF), a Bombay based Christian activist organisation.
Speaking further about the issue Dias said, "It seems that Salman Khan is either attempting to revive his staggering film career prospects or make some fast money by painting such pictures. However, this is an insult to the Christianity and has hurt the sentiments of the community. This issue is also a punishable offence and so we have written to the Police Commissioner D.N. Jadhav to register a case under section 295 (A) of the IPC, after due investigation. The CSF has also approached A.R. Antulay the Union Minorities Affairs Minister and the National Commission for Minorities to take up the issue with the actor. We have also called for legislation on the lines of the Atrocities on SC or ST Act to prevent such insults to any religion, which would go a long way in preserving the secular fabric of the country and in curbing communal unrest."
Dias also warned that the CSF has further called upon Salman Khan to either deny the reports or apologise, failing which the CSF will hold demonstrations and initiate legal action against the actor all over India, as in the case of M.F. Hussain’s painting of a Hindu goddess. "What adds insult to injury is the fact that the actors are not in any way associated with the Christian faith and are better known to exhibit behaviour and values that Christians, as a community do not share – violence, immorality, licentiousness, etc. We also urged the film and advertising fraternity to refrain from the use of gods or religious figures of any and every faith, as religion in India is a sensitive issue and a very personal matter. Unlike the West, which is largely irreligious, believers in India are quick to take offence, in the face of public affronts to their faith. Christians are made soft targets since they are a more tolerant lot, commanded by their religion to demonstrate peacefully. However, the community is becoming increasingly aggressive and in no mood to take such insults lying down. Would the Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and other religions tolerate such an affront to their faith?" asked Dias.
Meanwhile, even though Salman Khan and Amrita Arora were unavailable for comment, Amrita’s mother, Joyce told Afternoon, "Yes, Salman called up and said that he would be gifting a painting to Amrita. But he didn’t reveal the subject of the painting. I just read in the newspaper that it is on ‘Last Supper’ depicting our family. So I cannot comment anything on this issue till we receiv
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