'India is not a land of Lady Chatterley's Lover'

Bangalore, Dec 15: Karnataka governor Hansraj Bhardwaj spoke extensively on entertainment and values at the launch of Kannada film 'Mandahasa' here on Tuesday, Dec 15.

Produced by Mr Basava Reddy and directed by Rajesh Nair, this film tells a tale of a typical love triangle between a girl and two boys. The governor lauded the film released under the banner Advik Motion Picures Pvt Ltd.

See Mandahasa Muhurat Pictures

This is the first movie that invited such appreciation from a governor even though his predecessor Rama Devi has participated in couple of Kannada film functions way back in 2002.

Parvatamma, wife of late cine icon Dr Rajkumar, was also present at the function. She pressed the camera button to mark the first shot of the movie.

Women in Movies
The governor regretted the manner in which women are portrayed in Indian movies. He drew attention to the fact women who are seen in roles of mother, sister and wife command the most respect in the Indian society.

However, in movies the woman's personality attributes take the back seat as sex appeal is prioritized, the governor lamented.

During his tenure as the Minister of Law and Justice, Mr Bharadwaj pushed for the Prevention of Obscenity Act (2004) in order to abjure objectification of woman through the characters portrayed in films.

Entertainment and Values
The 72-year-old governor, who admitted that he is not in touch with today's movies as his age requires him to read ancient scriptures the classic literature, recollected his favorite movies and his associations with cine icons.

Recalling some of his most loved movies such as Sound of Music, Come September, Naya Daur, Mughul-e-Azam, the governor spoke on how the movies back then provided the audiences a message to carry home.

While speaking on his associations with stalwarts of Indian film industry such as NT Ramarao, MG Ramachandran, Dr Jayalalithaa who performed as actors and Dr M Karunanidhi who scripted couple of movies, he praised them for how they managed to move society.

Even though Kannada cine icon Dr Rajkumar never entered politics, the doyen has remained the darling of Kannada-speaking society, Mr Bharadwaj said.

Also alluding to the immortality of the art that was created in the earlier days, the governor said that compositions of Nausahd Ali are still played at his Raj Bhavan residence.

Even though film making or any entertainment industry is essentially a profit making business, the subliminal implication of family values and human relationships must not be neglected, he stressed.

The well-read governor wound up the insightful speech by drawing attention to the lack of creative flexibility in the Indian movie industry said, "Indian film makers should take the society forward and Indian movies should be progressive. India is not yet a land of Lady Chatterley's Lover."

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