Opinion Scars and a superstar

This is the sordid story of Darshan Toogudeep,one of Kannada cinema’s biggest stars. But the story does not end there. After public outrage against the KFPA’s moral policing,the sexist ban on actor Nikitha Thukral is withdrawn. Darshan is discharged from the hospital and returned to custody. And although Darshan’s wife Vijayalakshmi seeks to withdraw her FIR,the case continues and Darshan is denied bail.

Yet,the film industry has been curiously reluctant to speak out about domestic violence. This despite allegations that Darshan had been violent with his wife even during her pregnancy; that she needed medical treatment for injuries on a previous occasion; that he has threatened violence against their three-year-old child; and that most recently,he threatened his wife with a loaded gun.

Movies are a dream factory. They offer an escape from the greyness of daily life. But escapist fantasies have often tended to blind us to the real lives of those who act in them.

Darshan,described as the “Challenging Star” by his fans,has several new projects. Ironically,one of them is that of a real-life hero,Karnataka freedom fighter Sangolli Rayanna. Three decades before 1857,the horse-riding queen Kittur Chennamma stood up to the British who,refusing to accept the right of an adopted heir to the throne,were threatening to annex the state of Kittur as part of the doctrine of lapse. Chennamma was jailed for life in the Bailhongal fort,but her army chief Rayanna led a fierce guerrilla uprising against the British. Eventually betrayed,Rayanna was hanged from a banyan tree. In Karnataka,the stories of Chennamma and Rayanna are the stuff of legends. In 2007,a statue of Kittur Chennamma was unveiled in Parliament by President Pratibha Patil.

The lavish big-budget film,one of the most expensive Kannada films ever,has Darshan in the title role,with Jayaprada as Chennamma. Thukral is also part of the cast. The story involves elaborate war scenes with horses,elephants,period sets and costumes. Perhaps,in a few months,no one will find it strange that a man accused of violence against his wife is playing a legendary hero. With so much money riding on this and other projects,it is not surprising that efforts are being made to dismiss the complaint of domestic violence as just a family matter.

Because generally,domestic violence is seen as just that — “domestic”,within the family. But we should know how often the family space is a battlefield. According to the 2005-06 round of the National Family Health Survey,37 per cent of married women in India have experienced some form of spousal violence. Such violence is not limited to the poor or the illiterate. Sixteen per cent of battered women have had education of 10 years or more.

Five years ago,Parliament passed the landmark Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA). It provided for the grant of protection orders by magistrates,the appointment of protection officers by the state,and the provision of shelter to victims of domestic violence. Yet its implementation suffers from lack of funding and infrastructure.

According to an evaluation report by the Lawyers Collective,Women’s Rights Initiative,published in 2010,only 14 out of 28 states had made separate allocations for the PWDVA. In most states,rather than appointing independent Protection Officers,officials already holding other charges had been named as Protection Officers in addition to their regular duties; and an effective infrastructure was still to be put in place in most parts of the country. Nevertheless,as the report affirms,awareness is growing and a beginning has been made. One indicator of this progress is simply in the number of complaints received.

Between August 2009 and July 2010,Karnataka’s Protection Officers reported receiving 6251 complaints — the second highest number in the country. Clearly,the law is being used. Even if those around them stay silent,the victims of domestic violence have begun to speak out.

The writer is an IAS officer belonging to the Karnataka cadre. Views are personal.
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