Netflix removes Indian film after protest by right-wing Hindu group

Hindu hardline groups protest Tamil language film ‘Annapoorani - The Goddess of Food’

Tamil film Annapoorani - The Goddess of Food removed from Netflix for allegedly hurting religious sentiments (Screengrab/ Saregama Tamil)

Netflix has removed an Indian-language film from the streaming platform for "hurting religious sentiments" after facing a backlash from right-wing Hindu groups.

The Tamil-language film Annapoorani – The Goddess of Food was released in theatres in December and aired on Netflix later the same month, but was no longer available on the international streaming platform in India as of Thursday.

The film revolves around actor Nayanthara, who plays the role of a Hindu Brahmin woman aspiring to become a chef. Brahmins form the top layer of a centuries-old rigid system of caste hierarchy in the Hindu religion.

The protagonist, also the daughter of a Hindu temple priest in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, goes against her family’s wishes by eating meat and later entering a high-stakes cooking contest, where she cooks meat.

Members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a hardline Hindu organisation with ties to prime minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, staged protests outside the Netflix offices in Mumbai on Wednesday.

The group also appeared to object to the protagonist's friendship with a Muslim man in the film, and a dialogue that suggested that the Hindu god Ram ate meat. It accused the film of allegedly promoting "love jihad" — a right-wing conspiracy theory that claims Muslim men were marrying non-Muslim women to convert them to Islam.

Ramesh Solanki, who described himself as the head of an organisation called “Hindu IT Cell”, said he filed a complaint to Mumbai police about the film. "This film ... is intentionally released to hurt Hindu sentiments," he said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Mr Solanki and the VHP shared a letter of apology from co-producers Zee Entertainment Enterprises, a major Mumbai-headquartered Indian media company.

"We have no intentions as co-producers of the film to hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindu and Brahmin community and would like to hereby apologise for the inconvenience caused and the hurt caused to the sentiments of the respective communities," the letter signed by the co-producer read.

Separately, police in Maharashtra’s Thane district on Friday said they have registered a case against eight persons, including Nayanthara, over allegations of hurting religious sentiments.

Netflix and rivals like Amazon and Disney have often been at the receiving end of criticism from hardline religious groups in India, one of the world's biggest streaming markets. In 2021, Amazon offered a rare apology for some scenes in its series Tandav, which faced court cases and complaints that it offended Hindus.