There is a scandal in India. And Netflix reacted quickly, pulling a film that scandalized far-right Hindu groups from its platform. This is the movie Annapoorani, which released on December 1 in theaters here, but is already available in India on Netflix.
Annapoorani tells the story of a young woman from the Brahmin caste—the first of India’s four major castes—and her aspirations to become one of the country’s top cooks.
The Guardian It reports that the film has been criticized for depicting a member of a traditional vegetarian caste who cooks and eats meat. The film was also criticized for its portrayal of a Hindu deity.
“Deliberate Broadcasting to Hurt Hindu Sentiments”
The newspaper explains that the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) – a far-right Hindu nationalist organization – began protesting against the film last Wednesday, claiming it was “Deliberately broadcast to hurt Hindu sentimentsProtests were also held outside the Netflix offices.
Within 24 hours, according to The Guardian, the film’s producer, Zee Entertainment, apologized and said the film would be canceled and re-released to avoid further offence.
Thus, Annapoorani was removed from all international Netflix platforms except France, where it did not air due to media chronology.
A recurring fact in India
Amazon faced similar protests in 2021, with Hindu groups finding its political series Tandav offensive. However, we note that the series is available on Prime Video France at the time of writing.
Netflix has already faced a boycott of the BBC series A Suitable Boy, directed in part by Mira Nair, who has been accused of promoting “love jihad”.
Love jihad is an Islamophobic conspiracy theory propagated by far-right Hindu activists who claim that Muslim men target Hindu women to convert them to Islam. In short, the Great Replacement Theory.
The Guardian quotes Indian actress Parvathy Thiruvothu who believes that Annapuran’s removal from the Netflix platform sets a dangerous precedent. He blames the industry”Censorship left, right and center until we are allowed to breathe“.
On the other hand, VHP spokesperson Vinod Bansal said that the cancellation of the film was “A victory for all Hindus“.
Source: Allocine
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
