Zee Studios has issued an apology to Hindutva group Vishva Hindu Parishad for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus and Brahmins due to scenes in the film Annapoorani, the Deccan Herald reported on Thursday.
“We have no intentions as co-producers of the film to hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindus and Brahmins community and would like to hereby apologize for the inconvenience caused and the hurt caused to the sentiments of respective communities,” Zee Studios said in its apology.
The film was produced by Zee Studios in association with Trident Arts and Naad Studios and released in theatres on December 1. It stars Nayanthara, Jai Sampath, Sathyaraj, Achyuth Kumar, Kumari Sachu, KS Ravikumar, Redin Kingsly, Karthik Kumar and Suresh Chakaravarthy.
Nayanthara plays the role of a temple cook’s daughter who aspires to be the country’s best chef.
The film received backlash from Hindutva groups who alleged that some scenes from the film project deity Ram as a meat eater. The film has also been removed from streaming platform Netflix.
The apology came after Ramesh Solanki, a former Shiv Sena member, filed a complaint with the Mumbai Police against the filmmakers and actors.
In his complaint, Solanki alleged that the film promotes “love jihad” – a Hindutva conspiracy theory that Muslim men lure Hindu women into romantic relationships in order to convert them to Islam. The Union home ministry has told Parliament that Indian law has no provision defining such a term.
“The actress’s friend Farhaan brainwash[es] the actress to cut meat because he says Bhagwan Shri Ram and Maa Sita also ate meat,” the Hindutva leader said.
Solanki also complained that the movie shows the lead character, who is the daughter of a temple priest, offering namaz in a hijab and cooking biryani.
Some people on social media sought the boycott of the film and demanded that it be withdrawn.
The supporters of the Vishva Hindu Parishad held a demonstration outside the Netflix office in Mumbai, demanding the platform remove the film.
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