Annapoorani removed from Netflix after backlash from religious organisations

Ever since Nayanthara's Annapoorani premiered on Netflix, the film has been receiving mixed to negative reviews on social media. A lot of netizens and religious organisations have called out the film for misrepresentation of Hindus, and some have gone on to allege that the film promotes Love Jihad. 

Recently, an FIR was filed against the film by the Hindu Seva Parishad in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh for promoting Love Jihaad. Further, Zee Studios, the co-producers of the film, has now issued a letter of apology for hurting religious sentiments, addressed to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. 

The letter also mentions that the film will be removed from Netflix, and the parts, hurting Hindu sentiments will be edited out. The film is now unavailable to stream on the platform. "We have no intentions as co-producers of the film of the Hindus and the Brahmin community and would like to hereby apologise for the inconvenience caused and hurt caused to the sentiments of the respective communities," the letter detailed. 

The film marks the directorial debut of Nilesh Krishnaa, an erstwhile assistant of director Shankar. It follows the titular Annapoorani (Nayanthara), a Hindu girl belonging to the family of Srirangam temple cooks, who wishes to become a chef, for which she is required to cook non-vegetarian, which goes against their religious practices. 

Two scenes in particular have been receiving backlash. One scene featuring a mispronounced sloka from the Ramayana which says something about Lord Rama eating meat, and another where the titular character is seen offering Namaz before cooking Biryani. The relationship Farhaan (Jai) and Annapoorani share in the film, has also been equated to Love Jihaad. 

Trident Arts has backed Annapoorani along with Zee Studios. The film also stars Achyuth Kumar, KS Ravikumar, Jai, Redin Kingsley, Sathyaraj and Karthik Kumar among others. It is to be noted that the film marks Nayanthara's milestone 75th film.