Malicious Remarks About Lord Ram And Promotion of 'Love Jihad’: Hindutva Apologists Stop Viewing Tamil Film 'Annapoorani'
By
Syed Ali Mujtaba, New Age Islam
18 January
2024
Annapoorani' a Tamil film starring Kollywood
heartthrob, Nayanthara, is removed from the theatres and OTT platforms like
Netflix, following uproar by the Hindutva group of hurting the religious
feelings of the Hindus.
The film
explores the titular character Annapoorani’s (essayed by Nayanthara)
childhood dream of becoming the best chef in India. However, Annapoorani
is a Hindu Brahmin girl who has to deal with non-vegetarian food if she wants
to pursue her passion to become the best Chef. In the process, she alleged to
have shown some disrespect to lord Ram, as she has reportedly said that the
Hindu has also eaten meat during his 14 years of exile.
Further, Annapoorani
is shown as a rebel from the Hindu traditional values and is alleged to have a
friendship with a Muslim boy, a fellow chef who encourages her dream of cooking
meat but leaves the choice of eating it to her discretion.
Well, these
thoughts are enough to light the communal flames of the Hindutva folks who
rose, up in arms complaining that the movie is hurting the religious sentiments
of the Hindus. Police have filed complaints against eight persons, including
the actor and the film's producer, over allegations that certain scenes in the
film have outraged the religious sentiments of the Hindus.
The
complaints allege that the film made deliberate and malicious remarks about
Lord Ram and has also promoted the forbidden act of 'love jihad.'
Tamil
Director Vetrimaaran who is known for creating politically relevant movies has
lent his support to the film. Vetrimaaran in an interaction with the media,
stated that there is no genuine uncensored creative freedom for films in India,
including those released on the OTT platforms.
He argued
that even after a film receives approval from the censor board, external
pressures can lead to its removal from theaters and streaming services. He
raised concerns about the credibility of the censor board's decisions when
external influences interfere with the release of a previously approved film.
'Annapoorani'
was released on December 1, 2023, in theaters.
After the religious uproar, the movie team apologized to the public and
removed it from public viewing.
Annapoorani is not the first Tamil film to
‘offend' Hindu or Brahmin sentiments. The history of Tamil cinema is littered
with films that have anti-Brahmin and anti-Hindu overtones.
Now the
Hindutva force's strident campaign in India for Hindus, and Hindi- – Hindu –
Hindustan, has changed the outlook of the people and they now refuse to
entertain any contrarian viewpoint. In the process, the creativity of cinematic
art is being sacrificed in the country.
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Syed Ali
Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai.
URL: https://newageislam.com/current-affairs/malicious-lord-ram-love-jihad-hindutva-annapoorani/d/131542
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