Elizabeth may get the Da Vinci Code treatment

Catholic Church may seek cuts, fears rift with Protestants will deepen

MUMBAI: After The Da Vinci Code, Tickle My Funny Bone, and Sacred Evil, the Catholic Church in India is up in arms against Shekhar Kapur’s Elizabeth: The Golden Age. The church’s objection to the film, a loose rendition of events during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (AD1533-1603), is that it portrays the Catholic Church in a negative light vis-à-vis the Protestant Church, thereby sharpening the denominational divide.

The film’s director, Shekhar Kapur, has denied that Elizabeth was anti-Catholic, and had even hinted that he could make a third film on the British Queen. Kapur told reporters in Sydney last Friday the film was “anti (all) extreme forms of religion.”

The Vatican is hardly impressed. The Times of London last week quoted FrancoCardini, the chair of medieval history at Florence University, that the film “profoundly and perversely falsifies history”. #
Church sources alleged Elizabeth not only portrayed the Catholic Church in bad light, but may also accentuate the denominational divide at a time when efforts were on for unity. According to Joseph Dias, general secretary, Catholic Secular Forum (CSF), the film showed the Holy Father of Time negatively. An entire congregation of priests and laity was also shown as plotting Elizabeth’s murder.

“In the 21st century, when we are talking about unity irrespective of caste or creed, we have people like Shekhar Kapur not only taking us back to issues that are no longer relevant but also rubbing salt over wounds,” said Dias.
The CSF has now sent a memorandum to Censor Board chief Sharmila Tagore and I&B minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi asking for a preview before the film’s release. “We want a representative from the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) to be placed on a panel  viewing this film, and to have a say in censoring objectionable scenes,” said Dias.  

Even as the Catholic Church is fuming, its Protestant counterpart, is keeping a studious silence. Rev Dr Enos Das Pradhan, general secretary of Protestant Church of North India, declined to comment. “I have not seen the film. Without seeing it I can’t comment,” he said.

Babu Joseph, CBCI spokesperson, the apex body of the Catholic Church in India, said “they have distorted the Catholic history of England. We do not approve or endorse it. The church has taken note of it, that they are portraying it in a bad light. We strongly disapprove of this tendency.” Asked how could he comment on the film before seeing it, Joseph said his comments were based on reports and reviews of #Elizabeth. After seeing the film, the Church may approach the I&B ministry for suitable action.

Abraham Mathai, president, Maharashtra State Minorities Commission said he had not seen the film, but “if I find anything objectionable, we will definitely take some action.”