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.