In Nilesh Krishnaa’s Annapoorani, Nayanthara plays the protagonist, belonging to a Brahmin family. Her father, who we’re told is an engineer by qualification, serves as the cook for a temple in Srirangam (in Trichy, Tamil Nadu). When she’s born, the doctor observes her taste buds are superior and that she has better instincts about flavour. It’s established in an opening montage that she has a gift, and will grow up to be a famous chef. Her father disapproves of her culinary ambition, because training as a chef would mean having to learn how to cook meat. She finds a way to overcome her father’s disapproval, and elopes from her wedding to pursue her dreams.
Krishnaa’s film had potential in its story, but is a silly star-vehicle at best, which got its theatrical release on December 1. And yet, the film’s profile has grown considerably across the country after it was pulled down from Netflix on January 11, two weeks after it dropped on the platform. The film disappeared from the platform a few days after a First Information Report (FIR) was filed against the makers for “hurting Hindu sentiments” by a certain Ramesh Solanki – a former Shiv Sena member, and founder of the Hindu IT Wing on January 8. Another complaint was filed by VHP activist Arup Mukherjee on January 11, for “hurting Hindu sentiments and for promoting ‘Love Jihad’.”
The film’s teaser created quite a stir on social media, showing Nayanthara’s character reading a kebab recipe juxtaposed with her Hindu father praying. Many social media users on X (formerly Twitter) reacted strongly to how Hinduism was being ‘disrespected’ in the teaser.
In response to a questionnaire around the film’s disappearance from the platform, a Netflix spokesperson responded with the following statement – “The film has been removed at the licensor’s request.” When probed further, the streaming giant elaborated it was a licensor called Mango Mass Media who had taken the call to remove the film. The licensor even tweeted about it on what appears to be their X account. We tried to reach out to Mango Mass Media several times, but they remained unavailable for a comment. So did director Nilesh Krishnaa.
On January 18, actor Nayanthara shared a statement that began with ‘Jai Shri Ram…’ The statement reads as follows: “I am writing this note with a heavy heart and a genuine desire to address the recent turn of events concerning our film, Annapoorani. Crafting Annapoorani was not just a cinematic endeavour but a heartfelt pursuit of inspiring resilience and instilling the spirit of never giving up. It aimed to mirror life’s journey, where we learn that obstacles can be overcome with sheer willpower. In our sincere attempt to share a positive message, we may have inadvertently caused hurt.”
In the note, the 39-year-old actor said she was surprised that a film certified by the CBFC, one that also had a theatrical run, was suddenly pulled down from a streaming platform. “My team and I never intended to hurt anyone’s sentiments and we understand the gravity of this issue. Being someone who wholly believes in God and frequently visits temples across the country, it is the last thing I would intentionally do. To those whose feelings we’ve touched, I extend my sincere and heartfelt apologies,” the statement concluded.
The disappearance of Annapoorani from a streaming service is hardly the first time a film/show has come under the scanner after a few stray FIRs were filed against it. Amazon Prime’s Tandav (2020) remains a flashpoint, when creative freedom on OTT platforms was renegotiated. With Krishnaa’s film, things seem to have gone a step further. It might have paved the way for both filmmakers and streaming platforms to become even more paranoid, hauling up lawyers to go a step further and start anticipating FIRs for all possible social, political commentary and anything that would ‘hurt’ someone.
Let’s look at the two specific scenes in the Nayanthara film that have caused this social media outrage:
In the first scene, Annapoorani’s childhood friend Farhan (played by Jai) quotes a verse from Ramayan – where Ram, Lakshman and Sita were said to have survived on deer meat during their 14-year exile. This is Farhan’s way of convincing Annapoorani to touch meat during a class – which she considers will make her impure. The scene talks about one’s agency to choose the food they’re eating or cooking, rather than let external factors like religion or parental conditioning decide for them. Farhan explains how his mother, who makes delicious biryani, is actually a vegetarian.
In the current socio-political climate, there are bound to be those who are quick to react at scenes like this. A Muslim boy ‘coaxing’ a Brahmin girl to eat meat, would immediately feed into their made up theories of ‘Love Jihad’ and religious conversions an invention of the right-wing’s fertile imagination. Such people conveniently overlook Farhan’s dialogues to cherry-pick elements of the scene and share them as memes or short videos, to make it seem misleading.
The second scene is in the film’s climax, where the protagonist is given the task of making biryani, in the final round of a national cooking competition. Having lost her sense of taste because of an accident, the protagonist offers namaz before starting to cook. The scene seems to be implying that Nayanthara’s character is seeking spiritual guidance at a crucial juncture in her life. One could accuse the makers of being cheesy, but that’s all there is to it. Not for the hyperactive minds of those who ignore the context of seeing a Brahmin girl offering a namaz, consume it at face value and are quick to take offence.
With the film having been taken down from the streaming services and the personnel associated with the film having released public apologies to the complainants, it’s likely that the FIRs will be forgotten in the coming weeks. However, it does set a dangerous precedent for films in the near future. While Hindi films have been watchful about such controversies, filmmakers down South (especially in Tamil, Malayalam) were able to slide in political, social commentary, without the fear of online mobs or the establishment. That dam seems to have broken with Annapoorani.
Netflix might have passed the buck for Annapoorani’s removal to the licensor, but filmmaker Dibakar Banerjee has mentioned in more than one interview how his film Tees – starring Naseeruddin Shah, Neeraj Kabi, Kalki Koechlin, Shashank Arora and Huma Qureshi – commissioned by Netflix, will not be released by the streaming giant. When asked about it, Netflix maintained they were a proponent of creative expression. They shared the following statement: “We have an incredibly broad range of Indian original films and TV shows, all of which speak to our long standing support for creative expression. This diversity not only reflects our members’ very different tastes, it also distinguishes our service from the competition.”
With the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023, on the horizon – which seeks to bring everything from cable TV, streaming services to social media under the government’s ambit for ‘regulation’ – we might see similar instances in the near future. Commissioned films not being allowed to release, or films suddenly disappearing after arbitrary sentiments are hurt. The future for artistic freedom in India looks rather grim.