Photo: American Gods series to premiere next year.
American Hindus are urging Starz and Fremantle Media not to trivialize highly revered Hindu deities Kali and Ganesh in their upcoming television series “American Gods” premiering in 2017.
Universal Society of Hinduism (USH) president Rajan Zed, in a statement issued in Nevada, said Goddess Kali and Lord Ganesh were divine and Hollywood was welcome to create projects about/around them showing their true depiction as mentioned in the Hindu scriptures. Reimagining Hindu deities/concepts/scriptures for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the feelings of devotees.
Goddess Kali, Lord Ganesh and other Hindu deities were meant to be worshipped in temples and home shrines, and not to be thrown around loosely or dragged around unnecessarily for mercantile greed, Zed said.
He said Hindus were for free speech as much as anybody else, but faith was something sacred and attempts at belittling are hurtful. Entertainment executives should be more sensitive while handling faith-related subjects, Zed suggested.
Attempts at distorting depictions of Goddess Kali and Lord Ganesh would slight ancient Hindu traditions, Zed added.
Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about one billion adherents and a history of rich philosophical thought, and it should not be taken frivolously, Zed said.
Goddess Kali, who personifies Shakti or divine energy and is considered the goddess of time and change, is widely worshipped in Hinduism. Lord Ganesh is worshipped as the god of wisdom and remover of obstacles and is invoked before the beginning of any major undertaking.
The plot of “American Gods” reportedly revolves around a war brewing between old and new gods. Created by Bryan Fuller and Michael Green, it is produced by Fremantle Media North America. To be reportedly filmed in Canada and USA, each of its 10 episodes is said to be an hour-long. It stars Ricky Whittle, Emily Browning, Ian McShane, etc.
The series will be based on the novel of the same name by author Neil Gaiman.
