The poster of Mahesh Manjrekar’s latest Marathi movie Kokanastha, which is releasing on May 10, has raised hackles of many. They have called it “Brahmin supremacist” because it shows actor Sachin Khedekar dressed as an RSS swayamsewak with a tag line: Taath Kana, Haach Baana (A straight spine is our character).

“This kind of nonsense is allowed because of lax implementation of the law. How can anyone call their work art when it is divisive and aims at reinforcing stereotypes about supremacy that people have given up their lives to fight,” said Dalit activist-writer and ideologue Raja Dhale. He lamented the fact that this was happening in the land of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar.

“The casteist RSS and its connections to Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse are already well known,” he lashed out.

Mahesh Manjrekar rubbished claims of supremacism and said, “I’m making a movie in a free country in keeping with the law. I can’t go around seeking approval for the poster. People are entitled to their views as I am to mine.”

With the growing buzz among Dalit and OBC groups against the poster, fault lines have been extended to the virtual world too. Facebook and Twitter have been agog with aggressive comments which are seeing a reaction from those in support.

The Koknasatha Brahmin community, meanwhile, has welcomed the movie. While Manjrekar’s earlier Kaksparsh too dwelt on the community, his runway hit Me Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy had touched a chord with its regional overtones on the issue of outsiders.

“When I’m making a film, I only go by the script,” he said. He also wondered why there was allergy to the RSS. “As a child, I would attend shakhas, and the discipline and love for the motherland it instilled in me has helped immensely.”

Bahubhasheek Brahmin Nyas chairperson Moreshwar Ghaisas has asked those rushing to protest to wait for the movie. “I’ve seen posters and they do attract attention. I don’t think asking Koknastha Brahmins not to bend conveys supremacism. If anyone wants to react, they should wait for the movie’s release.”

RSS’ publicity-in-charge Pramod Bapat echoed Ghaisas’ view. “This is not the first time people have tried to club the RSS with the Brahmin community. Gandhi and Ambedkar too did it. But when they actually went to see for themselves, they found that virtually every caste and creed of people were swayamsewaks,” he said. “RSS has not made the movie, so why will it promote us?”

So is this a publicity stunt to ensure a good run at the box office?

Manjrekar said, “Controversies don’t help Marathi movies. Our cine-goer goes by word of mouth and decides what to watch.”

Sources within Manjrekar’s team, however, said it could be a well-planned strategy. “There is a strong Dalit character played by Upendra Limaye in the story. He has more on-screen space than Khedekar but it has been kept under wraps to create a pre-release buzz,” said a source.