Tamil film Annapoorani: The Goddess of Food has been removed from Netflix amid complaints that it hurt religious sentiments. The streamer said in a statement that the decision was made per ‘the licensor’s request’.
Ever since it started streaming on Netflix on December 29, the film has faced protests and police complaints, with claims that it contained “controversial” remarks about Lord Ram and “promoted love jihad”.
The film is about a woman named Annapoorani, portrayed by Nayanthara, who comes from a conservative family and aims to become India’s top chef. Her friend, Farhan (portrayed by Jai), helps her navigate the challenges she faces, including cooking and eating meat.
Police in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur registered an FIR against Nayanthara and others involved with the film based on a complaint by a group called Hindu Sewa Parishad. A complaint was also filed against the film in Mumbai, but the Mumbai Police said no FIR had been registered yet.
Following the backlash, the film’s co-producers, Zee Studios, issued an apology on Tuesday and assured that controversial scenes would be removed from the film and that an edited version of it would later be released.
“We as co-producers of the film had no intention to hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus and Brahmin communities and would like to hereby apologise for the inconvenience and hurt caused to the sentiments of the respective communities,” Zee Studios said in its apology letter.
The police complaint in Mumbai was filed by Ramesh Solanki, who identified himself as the founder of a group called Hindu IT Cell.
Senior police inspector Dyaneshwar Wagh of LT Marg police station said, “The complainant has submitted an application at the police station through a third person. We have contacted him and as he is out of station, he has not appeared before us. We are waiting for him to come after which we will record his statement and register a case.”
In his complaint, submitted on January 6, Solanki said “the film demeans Prabhu Shri Ram and is intentionally released to hurt Hindu sentiments”.
The complaint also highlighted some scenes from the film that allegedly hurt religious sentiments and promoted “love jihad”. The “daughter of a temple priest offers namaz wearing a hijab, before making biryani in the last scene of the film”, the complaint read. It also said that the titular character’s friend, Farhan, “brainwashes the actress to cut meat because he says Bhagwan Shri Ram and Maa Sita also ate meat”.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Solanki said: “We are not going to stop here, and we want the censor board to bring in strict laws that protect the sentiments of all religions.”
The FIR registered on Wednesday at Jabalpur’s Omti police station named seven accused, including Nayanthara, director Nilesh Krishnaa, producers Jatin Sethi and R Ravindran, and Netflix India’s content head Monika Shergill, police said.
“The FIR has been registered under sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion…and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the IPC,” Jabalpur city Superintendent of Police Pankaj Mishra said.
The FIR said that the movie was “made to insult Sanatan Dharma” and that it promoted “love jihad”.
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After complaints, Nayanthara-starrer Annapoorani pulled from Netflix; FIR against OTT platform, actor – The Indian Express
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