Now, almost after 25 years the sounds of world famous rock opera 'Jesus Christ, Superstar' will be heard in Kerala.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down the Kerala government's two decade-old ban on the popular musical loosely based on the Gospels' account of the last week of Jesus' life, reports The Hindu.
According to a report in The Times of India, Father Abraham Vellathadathil, a Kottayam-based priest of nearly 40 years, had challenged the ban in 2002. When the Kerala High Court dismissed his plea in 2004, he had then approached the Supreme Court.
The bench led by Justice Ranjan Gogoi and NV Ramana struck down the notification issued under Section 4 of the Kerala Dramatic Performances Act, 1961, after Father Vellathadathil's counsel Shridhar Chitale informed the court that the drama had already been staged in various cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, and that there had been no reports of protests by the Christian community anywhere. He also added that since the play was already available online, it could be viewed by anyone, anywhere.
"The opera tells a very simple story of the last seven days in Jesus' life on earth. It depicts the events that occurred in 33 AD as set out in the Holy Bible when Jesus was betrayed, arrested, beaten, spat upon and jeered at by even his closest followers. The opera depicts the agony of Jesus during his betrayal, his trial, his condemnation by the high priests and the Roman governor and finally the shameful death to which they sentenced him," Father Vellathadathil told TOI.
The music for the 70s rock musical has been composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and the lyrics have been written by Tim Rice.
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