http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...n_040319142352
NEW DELHI (AFP) - Indian-born director Ismail Merchant has defended his move to cast rock queen Tina Turner as a Hindu goddess in a new film production following protests by religious groups.
The 63-year-old pop diva and grandmother has been signed to play Shakti, the Hindu symbol of female power and energy, in "The Goddess" to be made by Merchant and James Ivory, the Indian-Anglo duo best-known for their string of lavish period movies.
Merchant said in a letter published Friday in The Times of India, one of the nation's top-selling dailies, the protests were based on "misconceptions about the film" which was being made "in a spirit of reverence."
"Tina Turner is one of the great artists of our time and has been a practising Buddhist for the last 20 years," the New York-based director said. "An artist of such international stature should be welcomed."
British Hindu groups have threatened to picket cinemas that show the film, saying Turner's reputation as a "sex icon" disqualifies her for the part.
News reports have quoted Hasmukh Shah, chairman of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad UK, a Hindu fundamentalist group, as labelling the casting "insensitive" and saying Hindus "won't stand for it."
Meanwhile Hindu Human Rights, a British-based group, has circulated a petition it says it will present to Merchant Ivory Productions, accusing the film-makers of turning the goddess into a "musical joke."
Merchant denied reports Turner would dance on a tiger's back in the film.
"Contrary to the accusations of objectors, nobody is going to sing and dance on the back of a tiger and the goddess is not going to be half-naked or a sex symbol," Merchant said in his letter.
"Nobody has the right to dictate how one should worship the Goddess or to discriminate against an artist who seeks to portray her," he added.
In the film, Turner will sing Indian classical songs in English, Latin and Sanskrit, composed by Zakir Hussain, a leading Indian performer of the tabla, a small set of drums. The movie will also star Hollywood actor Matthew Modine.
Shakti takes on the form of the creator or destroyer and is known by various names, including Kali and Durga. She personifies female divinity and power and wears a necklace of skulls.
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