‘We are happy that Nayanthara’s ‘Annapoorani’ has been pulled down from OTT’: VHP Spokesperson Sriraj Nair – Exclusive | Hindi Movie News – Times of India

Nayanthara‘s film, ‘Annapoorani‘ recently found itself in a soup after Hindu IT Cell founder Ramesh Solanki filed a complaint against its makers for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of the Hindus. Following which, the film was taken down from an OTT platform it was streaming on.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had also written to Zee and they too had taken the film down after the controversy.ETimes spoke to VHP spokesperson Sriraj Nair about the same.When asked if they have informed the filmmakers that they can proceed with the film if certain objectionable scenes are removed, he said, “First of all, we raised objections about two major scenes. One involves the portrayal of Bhagwan Ram, depicting him, Sita, and Lakshman consuming non-vegetarian food. This dialogue was spoken to a Hindu girl to persuade her to cook or eat non-veg. The worst part is during a cooking festival, a Muslim character convinces her, and she asks, ‘How do you make such good biryani?’ He replies, ‘The taste improves when you cook it after praying,’ and then she performs namaz before cooking the biryani, implying that it becomes tastier. What kind of message is this? This is selectively mocking and ridiculing Hindu dharma, which will not be tolerated. They always selectively do this and never have the courage to even name Mohammed as the villain in a movie.”

Elaborating further, Nair added, “I am saying that every time Hindu saints, sadhus, or Hindu shopkeepers are depicted, like in Baniya or Tilak, they are portrayed as rapists, murderers, cheaters, and so on. These things are selectively shown, and it’s not acceptable. This cannot happen every time. In this particular film, a Hindu woman is being persuaded to offer namaz and then cook while wearing some kind of veil or covering. What kind of message are they trying to convey? This is promoting love jihad and mocking Hindu dharma. There is no need for such scenes in the film, and we believe they are doing it intentionally.”

The creators of ‘Annapoorani’ have apologised for causing trouble and hurting the feelings of different groups. Meanwhile, Nayanthara’s fans are supporting her and her movie. They are asking the protesters why they are criticizing a film that has already been approved by the CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification).