Goa Catholics offended by ‘Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal’

Panaji : After protests in Mumbai, the Christian community in Goa is up in arms against Priyadarshan’s latest film “Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal”.

The Goan Catholic Welfare Union (GCWU) has threatened to disallow the screening of the film in the state if “objectionable” scenes in it are not deleted.

“If the film is screened in Goa we will protest. We will make sure that it is not shown,” GCWU spokesperson Juino de Souza told IANS Wednesday.

“If need be we will involve the chief minister and Christian legislators in the Goa assembly,” de Souza said.

The GCWU here has raised objection to scenes of a Roman Catholic priest shaking a leg to peppy music, and the “abuse” of symbolic Christian images like a cassock wearing priest fooling around with the Holy Water and wearing a garland of lotteries.

“Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal”, which releases this week, stars Nana Patekar, Paresh Rawal, Om Puri and Shakti Kapoor, and has been produced by Percept Picture Company.

Joseph Dias, on behalf of the Christian-Catholic Secular Forum (CCSF), accused the film industry of taking the Catholic faith for granted.

“We don’t even protest vociferously enough, let aside come on to the streets or be violent. No one is advocating violence, but a legal protest must go out from every Christian and Church… if we are to live with respect and not as second-class citizens,” he told reporters.

Just a few months back, another film “Kya Super Kool Hain Hum” had been in the news after Catholic groups protested scenes where a priest had been shown solemnising a marriage between dogs.