THRISSUR: The 92-minute documentary on atrocities meted out to captive elephants paraded in temples and festivals across the country named ‘Gods in Shackles’ had its Indian first public screening at state-run Kairali Theatre here on Saturday amidst tight security.
The film which had won seven international awards already takes a closer look at the lives of the most sought after elephants in Kerala, Thechikkottukavu Ramachandran, Thiruvambadi Lakshmi, Ollukkara Jayaram, Guruvayur Devaswom’s Arjun and an elephant named Sunder, subjected to severe torture at a temple in Kolhapur in Maharashtra.
The documentary made by Canada-based wildlife journalist Sangita Iyer depicting torture by the mahout of Thiruvambadi Lakshmi meticulously filming the elephant in different stages during a year has already raised many an eyebrow. The film was screened exclusively for MLAs and top bureaucrats in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.
“All the MLAs along with Speaker P. Sreeramakrish-nan and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan responded positively. The most gut-wrenching scene I shot was that of the mahout with dirty hands forcefully popping out the eyeballs of Thiruvambadi Lakshmi to apply eye drops in its fully infected left eye,” Ms Iyer said. “On the pretext of culture and belief, such atrocities could not be committed.
These are not mere allegations as those visuals speak a thousand words. To put an end to atrocities against elephants, I am ready to work with Devaswom, elephant contractors and owners.” Meanwhile, Thiruva-mbadi Devaswom president M. Madhavan Kutty told DC that the film was foreign funded with an ulterior motive of ending parading of elephants in Kerala.
