Edited by Deepali Verma
Post the outrage around Tamil film ‘Annapoorani’ for allegedly hurting the sentiments of the Hindu community, its actress Nayanthara apologised over the matter. Posting a note on her Instagram on January 18, the actress said she had no intentions to hurt anyone’s sentiments.
Nayanthara started her apology with “Jai Shri Ram” and said that the makers of the film attempted on giving a “positive message”, however, during the process they might have “inadvertently caused hurt’.
The actress added that the film’s team did not expect that a film passed by the censor board and already released in theatres, would be subject to removal from an OTT platform.
“We did not expect the removal of a censored film, that was previously showcased in theatres, from the OTT platform. My team and I had no intention of hurting anyone’s sentiments and we recognise the gravity of this issue,” Nayanthara wrote.
Further, Nayanthara laid emphasis on being a firm believer of God and often visits temples across the country. Clarifying, she added that causing hurt to religious sensibilities would be the last thing she would do.
“As someone who has her complete belief in God and frequently pays visits to temples across the country, it is the last thing I would intentionally engage in. To those whose feelings we’ve hurt, I would like to extend my sincere and heartfelt apologies,” she added.
The end of her apology note read that the film Annapoorani was made with the intention to “uplift and inspire, not to cause distress.”
Nayanthara’s apology is placed just days after Zee Studios issued an apology to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) for hurting the Hindu religious sentiments and Brahmin communities in their film ‘Annapoorani’. It was mentioned in the letter that Zee has urged the film’s co-producers, M/s Trident Arts, to initiate appropriate action against the problematic parts in the film, as well as Netflix to withdraw the movie from its OTT platform till the time the film is not altered.
‘Annapoorani’ saw its release on Netflix on 28th December last year, de-platformed on January 11 and is the 75th film of Tamil actress Nayanthara. The movie was produced by Trident Arts, Zee Studios and Naad Studios.
The film garnered a lot of criticism on social media for its anti-Hindu content. The film faced accusations of promoting conversion to Islam, misrepresentation of the revered Hindu deity Bhagwan Ram and offending the religious sentiments of Hindus.
Former Shiv Sena leader Ramesh Solanki filed a police complaint against the makers of the film ‘Annapoorani’ on January 6. Solanki, the founder of Hindu IT Cell, wrote to the Chief Inspector of the Lokmanya Tilak police station, to initiate action against the anti-Hindu nature of the feature film.
As per the Hindu activist, the movie ‘Annapoorani’ featured several objectionable scenes such as the offering of Namaz (Islamic prayer) by the daughter of a Hindu Brahmin temple priest, glorification of love jihad, and false information regarding the Lord Ram and Maa Sita devouring meat in Ramayana. Another FIR (First Information Report) was registered against the film’s makers and actors in Madhya Pradesh by the Hindu Seva Parishad on January 10.
