By:
Molly,
IndiaFM
Wednesday,
June
20,
2007
On
any
holy
day
marked
by
the
Christians,
even
as
they
sing
the
praises
of
Jesus
Christ
and
spread
the
message
of
goodwill
and
peace,
they
are
also
concerned
and
worried
about
their
place
in
India.
They
are
angry
about
the
way
they
are
threaded
by
the
system,
the
powers
and
above
all
they
are
angry
with
the
Hindi
film
industry.
They
are
angry
with
the
way
the
Christian
community
has
been
depicted
in
Hindi
films.
They
are
angry
about
the
way
their
religion
is
used
and
misused.
They
are
angry
about
the
way
Christian
characters
are
shown
as
"some
sort
of
people
out
of
this
planet
and
without
minds." They
are
angry
about
how
there
are
customs,
traditions,
prayers,
signs
and
symbols
are
used
and
made
a
mockery
of.
They
are
no
longer
in
a
mood
to
take
things
lying
down
any
more.
The
otherwise
docile
and
peace-loving
community
is
now
ready
to
raise
their
voices
in
protest.
It
is
for
the
first
time
that
they
have
formed
a
Catholic
Sabha
and
like
one
senior
priest
asked,
"if
other
religions
and
community
have
their
outfits
and
senas
and
samitis
to
fight
for
their
rights,
why
not
we?
We
too
are
Indians
and
we
too
are
entitled
to
our
right
to
fight
for
our
rights
and
protest.
We
have
taken
enough
for
too
long.
We
are
not
a
bunch
of
loony
humans
as
we
are
shown
in
Hindi
films.
We
wish
to
bring
to
the
notice
of
the
country
that
we
are
not
to
be
taken
for
granted".
Yes,
the
Christians
are
angry
with
the
way
their
image
has
been
sullied
over
the
years.
Says
a
seniors
and
very
pious
nun,
Sr.
Molly
Rego
"We
Christians
are
not
just
the
drunkards
and
ayahs,
dancers
and
girls
serving
in
bars
or
dancing
in
clubs.
We
have
our
own
place,
we
have
our
own
character
and
we
have
our
own
traditions
and
customs
we
have
been
following
since
generations.
Who
are
these
Hindi
filmmakers
to
drag
our
entire
community
into
the
muck?"
The
Christians
are
unanimously
in
their
opinion
about
the
way
Christian
characters
are
portrayed
in
Hindi
film.
They
are
aggrieved
and
their
grievance
is
gradually
growing
into
anger
and
showing
signs
of
revolt.
They
have
already
setup
a
committee
which
will
view
Hindi
film
to
see
how
their
community
is
shown
and
how
their
religion
and
religious
customs
are
used.
The
committee
has
set
down
certain
guidelines
and
it
has
also
planned
a
line
of
action
against
any
filmmaker,
writer
or
actor
who
crosses
or
breaks
these
guidelines.
They
took
their
first
major
step
when
the
late
Manmohan
Desai
made
Amar
Akbar
Anthony.
The
authorities
of
the
church
condemned
the
film
for
caricaturing,
cartooning
and
calumny
of
the
Christian
community.
They
castigated
the
film
for
the
way
Amitabh
Bachchan's
character
was
created.
They
ran
down
the
scene
where
Parveen
Babi
makes
a
confession
(a
sacred
belief
of
the
Christians)
in
church,
the
murder
of
Amitabh's
foster
father,
a
Christian
priest,
Amitabh
placing
the
body
of
the
priest
on
the
altar
which
is
the
most
holy
place
in
the
entire
church
where
the
Christians
believe
Jesus
Christ
"lives" in
a
tabernacle
(a
well
decorated
cubicle
placed
on
a
pedestal)
and
the
lampooning
of
a
Christian
priest
in
the
climax
song
of
the
film.
Desai's
film
received
a
hostile
reaction
from
the
leaders
of
the
church
who
went
to
the
extent
of
banning
shootings
of
Hindi
films
inside
all
churches
without
permission.
Any
filmmaker
who
now
plans
to
shoot
a
film
inside
a
church
has
to
apply
for
permission
from
Archbishop's
House
(the
head
quarters
of
the
Christian
churches
in
Mumbai).
Dev
Anand
was
refused
permission
to
shoot
a
murder
scene
inside
a
church
for
his
film,
Gangster.
He
had
to
be
satisfied
with
shooting
the
scene
far
away
with
the
church
only
as
a
backdrop.
The
authorities
also
came
down
heavily
on
Vinod
Pande's
Sins
which
showed
a
priest
having
an
affair
with
a
woman
with
the
cross,
the
most
sacred
symbol
for
the
Christians,
dangling
around
the
priest's
neck.
The
Christian
priest
is
bound
by
a
vow
of
celibacy
which
prohibits
him
from
getting
married.
The
Christians
are
also
up
in
arms
against
the
language
the
Christians
are
shown
speaking,
the
dresses
the
Christian
girls
wear,
the
way
servants,
drivers,
henchmen
of
the
villains,
comedians
and
prostitutes
are
shown
as
Christian
characters
with
name
like
Peter,
John,
Robert
and
Julie
or
just
Mrs.
D'souza,
Mrs.
D'silva
or
Mrs.Braganza.
Says
Mr.
Robert
D'souza
a
respectable
member
of
the
community
"I
recoil
every
time
my
name
is
used
in
a
Hindi
film
because
my
name
is
always
associated
with
a
thug,
a
drunkard
or
a
criminal.
It
makes
me
very
angry.
There
must
a
law
against
misusing
Christian
names
for
ulterior
motives."
Sr.
Molly
Rego
has
the
last
word
when
she
says,
"these
politicians
and
so-called
social
worker
and
filmmakers
specially
send
their
children
to
be
educated
in
our
schools
and
colleges
because
they
know
their
children
will
get
the
best
education
under
our
guidance.
They
even
threaten
and
put
all
kinds
of
pressure
on
us
to
get
admissions
for
their
children.
And
what
do
they
give
us
in
return?
Only
insults,
humiliations
and
efforts
to
make
us
group
look
like
just
numbers
or
vote
banks.
I
don't
know
when
they
will
see
sense." Sr
Molly's
voice
is
a
not
a
voice
in
the
wilderness
but
a
voice
which
is
spreading
far
and
wide.
They
are
cries
for
sanity
to
prevail
and
peace
to
rule.
Their
voices
must
be
heard
before
the
mild
people
are
forced
to
go
wild.
Will
the
filmmakers
and
others
listen
to
their
voice
at
the
right
time
which
is
now?
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