A documentary detailing the reasons for the recent floods in Chennai has got mired in a controversy owing to what many think a “tasteless” title chosen “insensitively” by the producers.
Made by a group called Madras Central, the documentary, released on December 17, has been titled Chennai Raped . More controversial is the animation the goes with the title: The word ‘Raped’ comes with a splattering of blood.
The video has attracted criticism from across social media with calls for an immediate change of the name and flagging it on YouTube for inappropriate content.
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Filmmaker and threatre artist Vaishnavi Sundar said such a title grossly undermines the trauma related to sexual assaults. “Using the word rape for anything else other than rape itself trivialises the trauma a woman faces in such a situation. This is not the first time we see such insensitivity on display. Many use the word rape too loosely and fail to see the repercussions,” she said.
A clickbait
In fact, Ms. Vaishnavi went on Facebook urging others to flag the film on YouTube for inappropriate content after the filmmakers refused to change their stance on the title. Many others accused the filmmakers of using the title as a clickbait to attract traffic.
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Meanwhile, Pradeep Muthu, part of the Madras Central team, defended the decision to use the title. “Our idea was to showcase the gravity of the situation. We have utmost respect for women and our team consists of women artists. The title reflects what has been done to our motherland which is this city,” he said.
Mr. Muthu said the issue had been blown out of proportion. “It is unfortunate that the focus has been shifted from the content of the film. I do not even know if people who indulge in such criticism even watched the video in full,” he added.