DNA

• The disclaimer and the Bandra festival have kept the viewers from the film

Mumbai, Nov 24 (mb): Elizabeth - The Golden Age, Shekhar Kapur’s controversial film, has failed to evoke much response for or against. On the one hand, the disclaimer added in the opening screen by Paramount Films seems to have calmed down the ire of the otherwise peace-loving community dominant in Bandra. They were the probable target audience. On the other hand, the ongoing Bandra festival also kept the viewers away from the movie.

Film critic Johnson Thomas found the film little objectionable and rated it with three stars. “There was nothing objectionable about the Catholic Church in the film. It portrays the British Queen as a staunch protestant. Her order of execution of the Scottish queen projects her angst against Catholics,” he says.

“In fact, we are pre-occupied with the Bandra fest and have little time for movies. As for the film, history should necessarily first be seen from the director’s perspective. Whether it has been construed or misconstrued is a matter of opinion. In democracy, if one has the right to make a film, others have the right to decide whether to watch it or not,” Patricia Nath opined.

However, some Bandraites expressed keenness to watch the film to discern whether all the brouhaha made about objectionable information is really borne out. “I would definitely watch the movie to know why it was dogged in controversy. The last time a similar controversy erupted around a film called Sin and I really found the film to be objectionable as it revolved around a priest in a relationship despite his vows of abstinence,” reacted Audrey D’Silva.

Even the Catholic Church seems to have been tamed by the disclaimer.

Spokesperson for the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) Father Babu John, when contacted in New Delhi, said “The disclaimer in the movie states that history is a matter of interpretation and the film was one such. We have decided to let the matter be.”