Kerala: Writer kicks up a row over usage of ‘Higuita’ as title for film

For every football lover in the world, the name ‘Higuita’ is connected only with a person, René Higuita, the legendary Colombian goalkeeper and his spectacular scorpion kick. But for the Malayali crowd swearing by football and fiction, Higuita is not only the name of one of the craziest goalkeepers in the history of football, but also of a celebrated and widely discussed short story in Malayalam.

‘Higuita,’ the short story by N S Madhavan, a former IAS officer and one of the most reputed writers in Malayalam, was published in 1990 and was acclaimed as one of the finest in Malayalam literature. After three decades, ‘Higuita’ has landed in controversy in Kerala. Interestingly, though the row has erupted during the World Cup season, it has nothing to do with football.

Opinions divided

The debate kicked off when the first-look poster of an upcoming Malayalam movie was released a couple of days ago. ‘Higuita’ — directed by Hemanth G Nair, and featuring Suraj Venjaramoodu and Dhyan Sreenivasan — was released by Shashi Tharoor on Facebook. Soon, N S Madhavan expressed his displeasure while responding to a tweet which referred to the name of the film.

Later Madhavan tweeted: “Malayalam cinema has always loved and respected writers; what this venture has done is it has taken away my rights on the title of a movie based on my story, which generations have studied in schools. I wish no writer in any language suffers my plight.”

Madhavan’s response created a storm in Kerala’s social media sphere. People were divided, with one group rallying behind Madhavan and the other against him. Those who disagreed with Madhavan wondered whether the author had ever taken the approval from Higuita, the footballer. The commonly shared argument was that even those who don’t read literature would be familiar with the name Higuita since football has a passionate following in Kerala.

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On the other hand, a few popular writers sided with Madhavan and expressed solidarity with him. K. Satchidanandan, the renowned poet and the current president of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi, defended Madhavan in a post on Facebook, which he deleted later. In his post, Satchidanandan argued that the filmmaker was in the wrong because it was a question of ethics sacrosanct in art. His post elicited hundreds of comments, with several disagreeing with his stand on the issue. Many raised a question: ‘How can a writer make a copyright claim on the name of a footballer?’ Later, Satchidanandan deleted the post.

Ashtamoorthi K V, another acclaimed novelist and short story writer, trolled Madhavan in a Facebook post. Taking a dig at Madhavan, he wrote that he did not complain to the filmmakers who used his name as the names of characters in their films. Also, a couple of writers wrote stories using his name in the title. “I went and watched those films and read those stories without holding a grudge against them,” Ashtamoorthi wrote, adding that what he did was a gentlemanly behaviour.

Benyamin, the author of the bestseller ‘Goat Days,’ had a different point of view. While he did not agree with Madhavan with regard to his claim on the title, he warned the public to be vigilant against filmmakers who have a crooked mind. “We have to see the double standards of filmmakers. There are several instances in which they used the names of famous stories/novels without little acknowledgement to the original author. They register these names and claim copyright. Even if they drop that film project, no one else would be able to make a film with the same name.”

Beyond the literary world

Everyone in Kerala has an opinion on everything. Opposition leader V. D. Satheesan did not stay away from expressing his view and came out in Madhavan’s support. “The Malayali public knows not only the footballer, but also the short story written by Madhavan, which is one of the most celebrated in Malayalam literature. His grief is justified. The filmmaker should have asked for his consent,” Satheesan told a publication.

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It seems that the CPI (M) does not want to take a stand on the heated debate: whether Madhavan has the right over Higuita or not? They prefer to keep a careful distance. The Federal sought a response from many CPI (M) leaders. However, they did not want to express their opinion, arguing that they did not want to “add fuel to the fire”.

The Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce, the apex body of the trade organisations in Malayalam film industry with which the films have to be registered, has denied the permission to the filmmaker to use the ‘Higuita’ title for the movie. It has asked the director to get the consent from Madhavan.

Director Hemanth Nair, however, has refused to change the name of the film. He said he has not received any communication from the Film Chamber regarding the same. He told the media that the film is a political thriller and the protagonist is a man who plays across the field to defend his party like the iconic goalkeeper, who is popular for his ‘out-of-the-box’ playing style. He said he had registered the film with this name three years ago. “It is the name of a footballer, no one has any copyright over it,” Nair said.

Many who stood by Madhavan acknowledged one thing. He may not win if this grows into a legal battle. According to them, it is a matter of morality, not of law. On the other hand, there are many who argue that there will be lakhs of people in Kerala who would be familiar with the name ‘Higuita’ because of its connection with the Colombian goalkeeper, with no idea about Madhavan and his short story.