Buzz over a bus

Actors, filmmakers and, at times, crew members invite the wrath of the public for reasons known and unknown. Ever heard of a prop raising too many eyebrows? This happened to Jubith Namradath and team, when they were filming the movie Aabhasam in Bengaluru. The director was not ready to wilt under pressure. He has created a poster on the unpleasant experience the team had to undergo. 

The prop in the story is a tourist bus, one among the five, used during the shooting of the film. It was not just any other bus either. It had a photo on its rear glass window that kicked up a controversy – the picture of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. It became the talk of the town while shooting was progressing at Hosur Road. The poster, designed by Pavisankar, shows Jinnah partly hiding behind the portrait of Godse inside a bus, that is being attacked.

“All five buses were given five different photographs and separate colours. Others were that of Gandhi, Ambedkar, Marx and Godse. Even when the shoot was progressing, people tried to interrupt our work and forced us to wrap up. With this poster, we are announcing to the world what we had faced and the morales of pseudo-nationalism. If they could tolerate the picture of Godse, a murderer, what’s wrong with accepting the image of Jinnah?,” asks Jubith.

In the film, the five buses belong to one travel agency named Democracy Travels. The shoot was mainly happening in the vehicle with Gandhiji’s picture on it. ‘Democracy Travels’, with Jinnah on it, soon became a hot debate on social media. Some even termed it as the Karnataka government providing “Pakistan democracy bus service”. All hell broke loose in no time. It occupied headlines when right-wing activists and a section of ‘nationalists’ raised their voices against the bus. Finally, the filming crew had to clear the air and explain the motive behind it.

“All five buses are travelling towards the same route to reach the final destination. It is the same marketing strategy of attracting people for target achievement that works there as well. We term that thing as democracy,” says Jubith.

The movie, that intends to break the stereotypes, has Rima Kallingal and Suraj Venjaramood in the lead roles. It also addresses the trauma of transgenders where TG activist Sheethal Shyam handles a major role. The film is slated for an October release.