"We are strictly warning you Netflix India"
Nayanthara’s Annapoorani is facing controversy and has been removed by Netflix India.
Directed by Nilesh Krishnaa, the titular character (Nayanthara) hails from a conservative Brahmin family from Tamil Nadu’s Srirangam.
Annapoorani dreams of becoming a chef but she faces challenges as she is torn between her passion and orthodox ideals.
She secretly joins a hotel management course and competes in a cooking competition.
Annapoorani was released in cinemas on December 1, 2023, however, it faced mostly negative reviews. The release also came at a time when Cyclone Michaung was causing chaos in Chennai, which resulted in poor turnout in theatres.
The film began streaming on Netflix on December 29.
However, it has now come under fire for allegedly hurting Hindu sentiments.
An FIR was filed by Ramesh Solanki, founder of the Hindu IT cell.
The complaint was filed against Nayanthara, Jai, writer-director Nilesh Krishna, producers Jatin Sethi, R Ravindran, and Punit Goenka, Zee Studios Chief Business Officer Shariq Patel, and the head of Netflix India, Monika Shergill.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) spokesperson Shriraj Nair also called for the film to be taken down from Netflix.
He tweeted: “We are strictly warning you Netflix India to immediately withdraw this evil movie of yours or else be ready to face legal consequences and @BajrangDalOrg style action.”
I have filed complain against #AntiHinduZee and #AntiHinduNetflix
At a time when the whole world is rejoicing in anticipation of the Pran Pratishtha of Bhagwan Shri Ram Mandir, this anti-Hindu film Annapoorani has been released on Netflix, produced by Zee Studios, Naad Sstudios… pic.twitter.com/zM0drX4LMR
— Ramesh Solanki (Modi Ka Parivar) ?? (@Rajput_Ramesh) January 6, 2024
In his complaint, Solanki highlighted several scenes that were allegedly anti-Hindu.
One scene involved Annapoorani’s friend Farhaan (Jai) convincing her to eat meat, something that is considered a sin in her orthodox family.
Farhaan goes on to say that Lord Ram had also eaten meat and that it is not a sin to eat non-vegetarian food.
Solanki also pointed out a love jihad angle where Farhaan develops feelings for Annapoorani but she considers him a friend.
Their romantic relationship remained unexplored.
Another scene that has caused backlash is when the lead character wears a hijab and offers ‘namaz’ during the cooking competition’s final round.
Following the backlash, Zee Studio stated that they instructed Netflix to remove Annapoorani from the platform until edited.
The letter read: “We are in the process of coordinating with our co-producers M/s Trident Arts to undertake requisite actions to address your concerns in relation to the said film and also with Netflix to immediately remove the film from their platform until edited.”
Zee Studio also offered an apology and wrote:
“We have no intentions as co-producers of the film to hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindus and Brahmin community and would like to hereby apologise for the inconvenience caused and hurt caused to the sentiments of the respective communities.”
The backlash prompted Netflix to remove Annapoorani, dividing social media users.
One said: “Annapoorani being removed from Netflix is straight up shocking, like I know the state of freedom is bad but it truly is pathetic how bad it is.
“This sets such a bad precedent for the future.
“If we’re removing movies because they hurt groups of people then wtf is Animal.”
Others wondered why Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal faced no issues like Annapoorani has.
But some sided with its removal as one user said:
“The trash Annapoorani has been now removed from @NetflixIndia.”
Watch the Annapoorani Trailer
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