Netflix
Annapoorani: The Goddess of Food is criticized for depicting a deity and a member of the vegetarian caste cooking and eating meat
Fri Jan 12, 2024 2:04 p.m. GMT
Netflix is embroiled in a backlash from right-wing Hindu groups in India over a film accused of hurting religious sentiments because it depicts a deity and a member of a traditional vegetarian caste who cooks and eats meat.
Annapoorani: The Goddess of Food, a film shot in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, tells the story of a young woman from the privileged Brahmin caste, whose father cooks food in a Hindu temple, and her ambitions to become one of India's best chefs.
In the film, she is depicted cooking and eating meat not traditionally eaten by Brahmins, Hindu priests and saints, which goes against her family's wishes.
The film was also criticized for containing an allegedly offensive depiction of the Hindu deity Lord Ram, suggesting that he had eaten meat in exile, and for allegedly promoting “love jihad”, an unproven conspiracy by the Indians Hindu right, which aims at Muslims tricking Hindus into marriage for the purpose of conversion.
BBC program A Matching Boy riles up 'love jihad' conspiracy theorists in India
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a far-right Hindu group with links to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), protested against the film on Wednesday, accusing it of being “deliberately released to hurt Hindu sentiments.”
VHP's online campaign against the film quickly gained momentum and protests also broke out in front of the Netflix offices. Members of another right-wing Hindu fringe group then filed a police report against the director, writers and makers of the film.
On Thursday morning, the makers of the film, Zee Entertainment, had released an apology stating that the film would be withdrawn and re-edited to remove objectionable scenes. It has been removed from all international Netflix platforms.
“As co-producers of the film, we have no intention to hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindu and Brahmin communities and hereby apologize for the inconvenience and harm caused to the sentiments of the respective communities,” Zee Entertainment said.
This is not the first time that content on Netflix and other streaming platforms has been the subject of protests and police proceedings by right-wing Hindu groups, which have played an increasingly powerful role in managing India's political and cultural sphere since the BJP government took office .
In 2021, Amazon faced protests and police proceedings, and employees had to seek protection from arrest after right-wing Hindu groups found the political series Tandav offensive to religious sentiments. Netflix also faced a boycott over its TV adaptation of Vikram Seth's novel “A Suitable Boy,” which was accused of promoting “love jihad.”
Bollywood, India's largest film industry, has also faced protests from right-wing Hindu groups and has been accused of increasing self-censorship of films related to politics and religion.
Parvathy Thiruvothu, an Indian actress known for her work in South Indian films, said Annapoorani's removal from Netflix set a dangerous precedent and accused the industry of “censoring left, right and center until we don't allowed to breathe more.”
The director and writer of Annapoorani have not commented yet. VHP spokesman Vinod Bansal said the removal of the film was a “victory for all Hindus”.
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