The Kerala police have cast their charm-offensive dragnet in the site teeming with icons that attract agreeable publicity: filmdom.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala police have cast their charm-offensive dragnet in the site teeming with icons that attract agreeable publicity: filmdom.
The force, which is celebrating its golden jubilee along with Kerala’s first communist government, is not partial to desi or even regional ambassadors of goodwill. Indeed, a film festival of police stories, scheduled next week in Thiruvananthapuram, will deploy Kamal Haasan, Om Puri, and Denzel Washington in a mission to bring the public closer to the force.
“The idea is to showcase the service rendered by the Kerala police to the public in the 50 years of its existence,” said Arun Kumar Sinha, south zone inspector-general, who is in charge of the jubilee’s publicity. “We are planning to strengthen the public-police interaction through the festival.”
Sinha said the festival’s film list is not ready yet, but it seems the broad thematic concern has been settled. “We will screen films that are based on true police operations,” he said.
Some apt suspects are said to have been identified by the department for its fraternising endeavour. Ram Gopal Varma’s Company and Govind Nihalani’s Ardh Satya will be the draftees from Bollywood. Kamal Haasan’s Kuruthipunal and Vaettaiyady Vilauyadu will offer a reassuring southern voice, while The Bone Collector, starring Denzel Washington, will come from Hollywood on cultural deputation.
Curiously, the police have shunned homemade police sagas. Suresh Gopi’s police films, which had been huge hits in the state for its anti-establishment rhetoric and ‘out-of-the-way’ manhandling scenes, have been cold-shouldered by the selection committee.
“Police officers are depicted as shady characters in most films,” said S Vijayan, deputy superintendent, who has been assigned the task of identifying the movies. “We are presenting a few films that show sincere police officers.” The festival will run from April 18 to 21.
The force is also using non-fiction to facilitate community building. An exhibition providing insights into all police wings – crime, forensic, finger-printing, and cyber crime – will be organised during the jubilee.
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