Extensive protest by various Hindu organisations has resulted in the failure of Hollywood movie "The Love Guru" which is now being short-listed for seven Golden Raspberry Awards for worst in the film.
Paramount Pictures production and Mike Myers directed movie mocks Hindu religion and culture by portraying some Hindu characters like Guru Pitka on the wrong side. This attracted displeasure from the part of Hindu religious leaders and organisations.
Nevada (USA) based Hindu religious leader Rajan Zed, who spearheaded the protest movement against "The Love Guru" starting in March 2008, said in an e-mail that although various issues contributed to its failure, but their effective protest resulting in boycott call, supported by other people of faith, was one of the major factors.
Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, had urged the world filmgoers to boycott the comedy film as it ridiculed Hinduism and hurt the sentiments of millions of Hindu adherents.
Many Hindu, Catholic, Presbyterian, Jewish, Native American, Methodist, Buddhist, youth, film, spiritual/religious, music, yoga, civil rights, etc., leaders had issued statements in support of this call espoused by Rajan Zed.
Zed further argued that it was pure and blatant ridiculing of Hinduism, the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about one billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought. No faith, larger or smaller, should be ridiculed at. Today it was Hinduism; tomorrow Hollywood might attempt to denigrate another religion/denomination.
He said that cinema is a powerful medium and any distortion with the facts can create stereotypes in the minds of some audiences, particularly children.
Worst in film Golden Raspberry Awards, calling "The Love Guru" "the year's biggest box office bomb" and "decidedly unloved", has nominated it for "Worst" in categories of: Picture, Director (Marco Schnabel), Actor (Mike Myers), Actress (Jessica Alba), Screenplay (Graham Gordy), and Supporting Actor (Ben Kingsley, Verne Troyer).
Earlier, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops declared "The Love Guru" "morally offensive" and slapped it with its highest rating "O". "Preview Online", which calls itself “informative tool for Christian parents and moviegoers", gave it Morality Rating of –4 (Dangerous), which is lowest of five categories, highest being +4.
"Christian Spotlight on Entertainment" gave it a Moral Rating of "Very Offensive". Crosswalk, a Christ-centered corporation, wrote in the movie review, "…slew of seriously wince-inducing jabs at India's culture (horrible, even when meant in fun)…
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