Zee Studios apologises over Nayanthara's Annapoorani, removes movie from streaming — 'No intentions to hurt Hindus and Brahmins'

The troubles for Nayanthara's latest movie, Annapoorani, continue to mount amid allegations of hurting religious sentiments. In light of the growing pressure, the producers, Zee Studios, have issued an unconditional apology. They have also revealed their plans to keep the movie off the streaming platform until they edit out the controversial parts. 

"We are in the process of coordinating with our co-producers, M/s. Trident Arts, to undertake the requisite actions to address your concerns in relation to the said film and also with Netflix to immediately remove the film from their platform until edited. We have no intentions as co-producers of the Film to hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindus and Brahmins community and would like to hereby apologize for the inconvenience caused and hurt caused to the sentiments of the respective communities," Zee Studios said in a letter addressed to the Vishva Hindu Parishad.

The apology from Zee Studios comes days after the social media campaigns against the Tamil film Annapoorani, which deals with certain touchy and highly controversial topics. 

ALSO READ: Netflix stops Nayanthara's Annapoorani from streaming amid protests 

Annapoorani failed to resonate with audiences in Tamil Nadu following its initial release in December and didn't create any cultural impact at the time. However, the movie sparked massive controversy when it was discovered by audiences in the Hindi-speaking states following its release on Netflix on December 29, 2023. 

A section of the audience has taken offence to certain scenes and dialogues in Annapoorani, accusing it of insulting Hindi culture and beliefs. Recently, an FIR was also registered in Mumbai against Nayanthara on various charges. 

ALSO READ: Annapoorani on OTT: 5 reasons to watch Nayanthara’s culinary drama on Netflix

Some have also taken offence to the inter-religious love affair in the movie between a Bhramin girl and a Muslim boy. The biggest controversy stems from a scene where the male protogonist claims Lord Rama was a meat eater, citing a quotation from the Indian epic Valmiki's Ramayana. 

Debut director Nilesh Krishnaa has written and directed Annapoorani. It also stars Jai, Sathyaraj, Achyuth Kumar, and KS Ravi Kumar, among others. 

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