Jai Shri Ram: Nayanthara Apologises for 'Annapoorani' Controversy

Actor Nayanthara has apologised for the controversy over her film 'Annapoorani', saying she and her team did not intend to hurt anyone's sentiments.A section of people said they were offended by some scenes in the movie and hurting religious sentiments of Hindus. Reacting to the claims, Nayanthara began her statement with ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and said, “In our sincere attempt to share a positive message, we may have inadvertently caused hurt. We did not expect the removal of a censored film, previously showcased in theatres, from the OTT platform.

My team and I never intended to hurt anyone's sentiments and we understand that the gravity of this issue. Being someone who wholely 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,” she also added.An FIR was filed at the Lokmanya Tilak Marg police station in South Mumbai by one Ramesh Solanki. He alleged that Annapoorani demeans Lord Ram and it was intentionally released to hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus.Following this, Zee Studios issued an apology to Vishwa Hindu Parishad. They stated that the film would be removed from the platform until it was edited to remove the objectionable content.Nayanthara also clarified in the end, “The intention behind Annapoorni was to uplift and inspire, not to cause distress. Over the last two decades, my journey in the film industry has been guided with a singular intention - To spread positivity & foster learning from one another.”

The film is about Annapoorani (played by Nayanthara), who hails from a conservative Brahmin family from Tamil Nadu's Srirangam. She aims to become a top chef in India. However, she faces obstacles as she is torn between her passion and orthodox ideals.With support from classmate Farhan (played by Jai), she steps out of her comfort zone and begins eating meat.In one of the scenes, Farhan convinces Annapoorani to eat meat. He goes on to mention that Lord Ram also consumed meat and that it isn't a sin to eat non-vegetarian food. The complaint was filed against Nayanthara, Jai, writer-director Nilesh Krishna, producers Jatin Sethi, R Ravindran, and Punit Goenka, Zee Studios Chief Business Officer Shariq Patel, and the head of Netflix India, Monika Shergill