On January 11, Thursday, a letter went viral on social media wherein Zee Studios issued an apology to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) for hurting Hindu religious sentiments of the Hindu community in their film ‘Annapoorani’. The letter dated January 9, is written on Zee Studio’s letterhead and addressed to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
BREAKING NEWS
— News Arena India (@NewsArenaIndia) January 11, 2024
Zee Studios issues apology to VHP for hurting religious sentiments of Hindus in their film Annapoorni. pic.twitter.com/tAGsTDV0Hb
The letter stated that Zee has urged the film’s co-producers, M/s Trident Arts, to take appropriate action against the problematic parts in the film, as well as Netflix to remove the movie from its OTT platform till the film is not altered. Zee apologized for offending the religious sentiments of the Hindu and Brahmin communities.
As on January 11, Thursday, Netflix pulled down the movie from the OTT platform.
Notably, until yesterday, the film was streaming on Netflix with a description, “The daughter of a temple cook goes against her family’s wishes to make non-vegetarian food in order to prove she’s a talented chef in her own right.”
‘Annapoorani’ was released on Netflix on 28th December last year and is the 75th film of Tamil actress Nayanthara. The movie is produced by Trident Arts, Zee Studios and Naad Studios.
Recently, the film garnered a lot of criticism on social media for its anti-Hindu content. The film was accused of promoting conversion to Islam, misrepresenting the revered Hindu deity Bhagwan Ram and offending the religious sentiments of Hindus.
On Saturday, January 6, former Shiv Sena leader Ramesh Solanki filed a police complaint against the makers of the film ‘Annapoorani’. Solanki, the founder of Hindu IT Cell, wrote to the Chief Inspector of the Lokmanya Tilak police station, seeking action against the anti-Hindu nature of the feature film.
According to the Hindu activist, the movie ‘Annapoorani’ featured several objectionable scenes. Those include the offering of Namaz (Islamic prayer) by the daughter of a Hindu Brahmin temple priest, glorification of love jihad, and falsehoods about Lord Ram and Maa Sita devouring meat in Ramayana.
I have filed complain against #AntiHinduZee and #AntiHinduNetflix
— Ramesh Solanki🇮🇳 (@Rajput_Ramesh) January 6, 2024
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
The controversy surrounding the film started gaining momentum on social media, with several individuals and groups expressing their discontent.
On January 10, another FIR (First Information Report) was registered against the film’s makers and actors in Madhya Pradesh by the Hindu Seva Parishad.
हिन्दू सेवा परिषद्(जबलपुर,मध्यप्रदेश) के द्वारा थाना ओमती में हिन्दू विरोधी फिल्म #अन्नपूर्णी के सम्पूर्ण स्टार कास्ट के खिलाफ F.I.R. दर्ज कराई गई है।
— Kajal HINDUsthani (@kajal_jaihind) January 10, 2024
आज हिन्दू सेवा परिषद् के द्वारा फिल्म अन्नापूर्णी के निर्देशक निर्माता एवं कलाकारों एवं अन्य 4 के खिलाफ आपराधिक मामला थाना ओमती… pic.twitter.com/hbEMVJ2HfN
The Hindu Seva Parishad filed a criminal action alleging that Annapoorani contained sequences with derogatory comments about Lord Rama, which hurt Hindu sensibilities. Furthermore, the organization stated that the film promoted Love Jihad.
The FIR was filed against the director, producer, actors, and four others associated with the anti-Hindu propaganda film.
The spokesperson for the Hindu Seva Parishad expounded on the film’s content, claiming that it contains scenes with insulting remarks against Hindu deities, particularly Lord Rama. The spokesperson also voiced concern about the film’s supposed depiction of Lord Rama murdering animals and eating meat during His exile, calling it false propaganda that has profoundly harmed the sentiments of Hindus.
