Garin's new film draws ire from firebrand Hindu group

Garin's new film draws ire from firebrand Hindu group

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In a move that could be seen as another threat to freedom of
artistic expression, a firebrand Hindu group has accused the
makers of Opera Jawa (Requiem From Java), a new arthouse film
from the country's leading director Garin Nugroho, of the
blasphemous portrayal of their gods.

The group, the World Hindu Youth Organization (WHYO), which is
based in Bali and claims to represent Hindu youths in six
countries, including the United States and Australia, said
Garin's film -- slated for release in August next year and
currently in its post-production stage -- incorrectly portrayed
Rama of Ayodhya and his wife Sita.

Through its spokesman Ngurah Arya Wedakarna, the WHYO said
that in Garin's film the portrayal of most characters borrowed
from the Ramayana epic -- be it Rama, Sita or demon Ravana --
strayed way too far from Valmiki's original text.

The Ramayana has become part of the Hindu holy book Veda.

"In one part of the story, it was illustrated that Ravana
sneaked into Rama's room to seduce Sita. In the Ramayana's
original text, Ravana only meets Rama on the battlefield and
there is no mention of him sneaking into Sita's room," Arya said.

Arya then provided a 10-item list of errors in Garin's version
of the Ramayana epic.

Such a meticulous disclaimer, however, was made without any
WHYO members seeing a single frame of the yet-to-be-released
film.

The statement was solely based on a preview article published
in the Oct. 9 edition of the Tempo weekly.

The WHYO renewed its attack on Garin late last week, when
international WHYO advisor Mohan M.S. called Garin a stupid
filmmaker who jeopardized his cast and crew as they could become
easy targets of animosity from what he called a militant Hindu
group.

"A conflict between Muslims and this militant Hindu group has
claimed thousands of lives in India. We don't want this film to
spark similar conflict here," Mohan said.

The WHYO later demanded that Garin remove any references to
the Ramayana.

The organization also said that Garin should have consulted it
before writing the film script.

Prejudicial comments

Responding to the criticism, Garin said that the complaint was
baseless as it was made when the film was not even released yet.

"I am not afraid (because of the threat), I am very sad
because the WHYO resorted to unethical conduct when making their
criticism. My film can only be judged after it is released,"
Garin said.

The acclaimed director said the Ramayana had grown to become a
public domain that could be approached by anyone or artists
regardless of their beliefs.

"If people want to name their shops Ramayana, should they also
consult the WHYO?" Garin queried.

The dismayed Garin and his production house Karya Set Film
held a press briefing last Friday to respond to the WHYO
criticism.

However, the briefing only caused the escalation of the
dispute as the members of the WHYO who were present used the
occasion to renew their calls.

No conclusion could be reached at the meeting.

A number of activists, including chairman of the Indonesian
Church Association (PGI) Rev. Nathan Setiabudi, member of the
Press Council Abdullah Alamudi and fellow film director Riri Riza
turned up at the press conference, throwing their weight behind
Garin. Arya -- former member of obscure boy band FBI -- was not
present at the briefing.

"Religious establishments should not meddle with artists'
freedom of expression," Nathan said.

Garin later told The Jakarta Post that he would not make the
slightest change to his film and he said that the WHYO would wait
until the film was released before taking any action.

He warned about the threat of religious bigotry against the
freedom of expression in the fledgling democracy.

This is not the first time that WHYO action has taken its
toll.

Earlier this year, the group launched an attack against
country-rock legend Iwan Fals after the singer "wrongly depicted"
Rama in the artwork for his new album Manusia 1/2 Dewa (Half-god
Man).

The singer heeded the demand and replaced the artwork on the
album cover.

The WHYO also made a similar demand of female writer Dewi
Lestari Simangunsong over the inappropriate use of symbols of
Hinduism for the cover of her new book Supernova 2.1.

Opera Jawa is Garin's new film shot to commemorate the 250th
anniversary of the birth of German composer Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart. Garin was shortlisted in an associated competition for
filmmakers, along with five other directors from around the
globe.

The film, produced by, among others, playwright Peter Sellars,
stars Miss Indonesia 2004 Artika Sari Devi. It will premiere here
before it is screened in Vienna in August next year.