Actor and producer Nayanthara's 2023 film, Annapoorani, which featured her as a chef, is all set to stream on JioHotstar from October 1, only in Hindi. The Tamil film, helmed by Nilesh Krishnaa, was previously removed by Netflix worldwide after it elicited accusations of promoting love jihad and hurting Hindu sentiments.
Jointly produced by Jatin Sethi and R Ravindran under Zee Studios, Naad Sstudios and Trident Arts, Annapoorani follows the titular character (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.
Upon its release, two scenes from the film in particular received backlash. One scene features 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 Jihad.
Following its debut on Netflix, an FIR was filed against the film by the Hindu Seva Parishad in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, for promoting Love Jihad. Further, Zee Studios, the co-producers of the film, issued a letter of apology for hurting religious sentiments, addressed to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. Following this, Nayanthara also penned a long note addressing the controversy and apologising for hurting the sentiments of common people.
Now, nearly two years later, the film is slated to premiere on JioHotstar in Hindi alone. Annapoorani 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.
