Controversy spurs Da Vinci sales
The buzz around the ?Jesus conspiracy? in Dan Brown's controversial book, The Da Vinci Code, boosts its sales in Mumbai.
Dan Brown may have been cleared of plagiarism charges, but the call from some sections to ban the movie version continues to hog the front pages. Father Trigilio, a prominent US Catholic priest who began it all by calling it “blasphemous and factually incorrect” isn’t finding much favour in Mumbai.
Instead, the buzz around the ‘Jesus conspiracy’ has pushed up the sales of The Da Vinci Code. Crossword, where the book has never been off the best-seller list, expects to double its sales as May 19, the film’s release date, approaches.
Says R Sriram: “The book has been up and down the bestseller charts but it has climbed back to number 3 in the past few weeks.”
Danai’s Augustine Baretto echoes this. While sales have been brisk since 2004, they sold far fewer copies when there was no corresponding hype. “We’ve seen almost a 100 per cent rise in sales in the last two months,” says Baretto.
Students can buy copies off the streets for just Rs 35, a big mark-down from the Rs 125 when the book first came out. Mumbai’s Catholic community isn’t being up in arms, either.
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Bombay Catholic Sabha President, Dolphy Dsouza, asserts that they’re upset and hurt over the novel but realise that it is a work of fiction. “As Christians, we need to deepen our faith and not be fazed by it,” he says, adding: “The government should be sensitive and not show films that will hurt religious sentiments. Christ’s message was of love. So instead of outrage, we need to pray for the author.”