‘Annapoorani’ controversy: Why Nayanthara’s film is under fire | Explained

Tamil language film "Annapoorani - The Goddess of Food", featuring Nayanthara has been embroiled in a controversy for hurting religious sentiments. In the film, a controversial statement has been made about Lord Ram. The film depicts the daughter of a Hindu temple priest in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu eating meat and later entering a high-stakes cooking contest, where she cooks meat.

The film was recently launched on Netflix and Zee OTT platforms but it received a barrage of criticism from a section of the audience for hurting Hindu sentiments.

An FIR was filed in Omti Police Station in Jabalpur district under sections 153-A and 34 against actor Nayanthara, film director Nilesh Krishnaa, and one other person for allegedly hurting religious sentiments. The complaint was filed by Hindu IT Cell founder Ramesh Solanki against the makers of Annapoorani.

Following the FIR, Netflix removed "Annapoorani - The Goddess of Food" from its platform. "Annapoorani - The Goddess of Food" was released in theatres in December and aired on Netflix later the same month, but was no longer available on the international streaming platform as of Thursday.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had also written to Zee and they also took down the film from its platform.

Tamil Nadu BJP chief Annamalai booked for promoting religious enmity

"We raised the objections about two major scenes. One involves the portrayal of Bhagwan Ram, depicting him, Sita, and Lakshma consuming non-vegetarian food. This dialogue was spoken to a Hindu girl to persuade her to cook and eat non-veg food. The worst part is during a cooking festival, a Muslim character convinces her, and she asks, 'How do you make such good biryani?' He replies, 'The taste improves when you cook it after praying,' and then she performs namaz before making biryani, implying that it becomes tastier. This is secretly mocking and ridiculing Hindu dharma, which will not be tolerated," VHP spokesperson Sriraj Nair told Times of India.

This week on Wednesday, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a hardline Hindu organisation shouted slogans against Netflix and the movie at the company's Mumbai office.

'Annapoorani' features Nayanthara, Sathyaraja, Jai, Achyuth Kumar, KS Ravikumar, Karthik Kumar, and Renuka in pivotal roles.

Annapoorani controversy: Netflix takes down movie, Zee Studios issues apology

Netflix and rivals like Amazon and Disney have often been at the receiving end of criticism from hardline religious groups in India, one of the world's biggest streaming markets.

In 2021, Amazon offered a rare apology for some scenes in its series "Tandav", which faced court cases and complaints that it offended Hindus.