A video clip that denigrates India’s Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi is snowballing into a big controversy, inviting outrage and condemnation from all quarters. In an apparent attempt to gain instant popularity, a non-resident Indian (NRI) stand-up comedian and clown has portrayed Mahatma Gandhi in a cheap and vulgar way. The Government of India acted quickly to ban the video in India even as the public at large is outraged. The video footage has been available on the worldwide web for the past few days. It was a 24x7 television channel that broke the news first, drawing the attention of the nation as well as the Government to the attempt to disparage the Father of the Nation in the Western media. India’s Information and Broadcasting Ministry immediately slapped a ban on any attempt to air the footage on any Indian TV channel and also sought an apology from the two TV channels that first beamed the news. The short video clip, made by United States-based based Gautham Prasad, shows Mahatma Gandhi in some shockingly vulgar scenes. The footage shows a man – believed to be Gautham Prasad himself – dressed as the Mahatma, resorting to violence, carrying a dagger, performing a pole-dance, firing from an AK-47 rifle, eating out in restaurants with women, jumping out of a sports car, etc. Prasad’s webpage describes him as a stand-up comedian, clown and yoga teacher based in New York and claims he was born in India and brought up in America. The webpage describes the man thus: “He studied acting at Northwestern University and mime in Paris with Maximilien Decroux. He was a clown with Ringling Brothers circus for two years. He has studied clowning with Dick Monday, Tiffany Reilly, Sue Morrison, and David Shiner. He currently lives in New York City, where he works as a yoga teacher and performer.” Prasad's webpage says his influences are Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor. The man also claims to have a certificate to teach Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga from an institute called, It’s Yoga, San Francisco. The video footage is being played on a popular website for sometime now. It was only on Thursday that it caught the attention of the Indian media. Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi has said he has asked his ministry to “deal firmly” with the matter. The Information and Broadcasting Ministry is consulting the Information Technology Ministry on a possible action plan as the footage has been obtained from a website. “Based on a website document, an attempt was made to denigrate the honour of the Father of the Nation, which has been in bad taste,” Dasmunsi said. He also warned the Indian media against any attempt to copy or publish the obscene material. Labels: Society |
