‘Love Guru’ still awaiting certification for exhibition in India

Vaishakh Krushna Dwadashi

Know more about Hindus’ protest against Love Guru movie

Keenly protested Hollywood movie “The Love Guru”, released last June and bluntly failed world over, is still reportedly waiting for certification from India’s Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), where it was submitted on November 20 last.

According to reports, its fate is still hanging because of difference of opinion of CBFC film committee members. CBFC is responsible for certifying films suitable for public exhibition in India, where the main character of the movie Guru Pitka was shown to be raised in an ashram. Usually a movie receives certification in a week or two.

According to acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, this movie appears to violate various CBFC “guidelines for certification”. He listed the apparently challenged CBFC guidelines in this movie as: “ such dual meaning words as obviously cater to baser instincts are not allowed”; “visuals or words contemptuous of racial, religious or other groups are not presented”; “human sensibilities are not offended by vulgarity, obscenity or depravity”.

Zed, who is the president of Universal Society of Hinduism, stresses that the Cinematograph Act lays down that a film has to be certified keeping “morality” in mind, besides other things. CBFC objectives of film certification are given as… “the medium of film remains responsible and sensitive to the values and standards of society”; “the medium of film provides clean and healthy entertainment”…

Rajan Zed, who spearheaded the protest movement against “The Love Guru” beginning in March 2008, argues that it is a pure and blatant ridiculing of Hinduism, the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about one billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought. No faith, larger or smaller, should be ridiculed at.

Hindus, who earlier called for its worldwide boycott, have also urged its co-producer and leading actor Mike Myers to withdraw “The Love Guru” movie from proposed exhibition in India out of respect for the upset Hindus.

Zed argued that withdrawing the movie from India would also save Mike Myers from further humiliation as the film suffered blunt failure at the box office and also received “worst picture”, “worst actor”, and “worst screenplay” awards at Golden Raspberries.

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops declared “The Love Guru” “morally offensive” and slapped it with its highest rating “O”. “Preview Online”, which calls itself  “informative tool for Christian parents and moviegoers”, gave it Morality Rating of  –4 (Dangerous), which is lowest of five categories, highest being +4. “Christian Spotlight on Entertainment” gave it a Moral Rating of “Very Offensive”. Crosswalk, a Christ-centered corporation, wrote in the movie review, “…slew of seriously wince-inducing jabs at India’s culture (horrible, even when meant in fun)…” Dwight N. Hopkins, Professor of Theology at the University of Chicago Divinity School, has said about the movie, “It exhibits the bodacious, repulsive, iconoclastic, sophomoric, insulting, stereotyping, and illogicality…” 

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