Netflix pulls original film as religious viewers condemn meat-eating characters

Netflix was forced to pull one of its films from the platform on Friday after several right-wing Hindu groups complained about a scene in which the main character is seen eating meat.

“Annapoorani: the Goddess of Food” tells the story of a young woman from the Brahmin caste who aspires to become the best chef in India. It’s been yanked by the streaming giant after religious watchers called out the problematic film’s depiction of the traditionally vegetarian caste consuming meat, The Guardian reported.

Hardliners also slammed the feature for the portrayal of the Hindu deity Lord Ramthat, claiming the film implied that Ramthat ate meat while in exile.

Critics of the film also say that the movie promotes a conspiracy theory that Muslim men are on a “love jihad” to marry and convert Hindu women.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a popular rightwing Hindu group, launched their campaign on Wednesday by saying the film was “intentionally released to hurt Hindu sentiments,” per The Guardian.

The group’s online protest quickly gained traction on social media and culminated in an in-person rally at Netflix’s headquarters.

Some members of the group went even further and filed several police reports against the film’s writer, director and creators.

By Thursday, Zee Entertainment, the company that created the controversial film, issued an apology stating that the film would be removed and re-edited to remove any offensive scenes.

“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,” the company said in a statement.

Following the film’s removal, VHP spokesperson Vinod Bansal issued a statement saying that the removal of the film was a “victory for all Hindus”.

This is not the first time Hindu groups have protested films that clash with their beliefs.

In 2021, Amazon suffered a massive backlash after several groups had deemed its series “Tanday” to be too offensive.

Netflix also reportedly faced a boycott over the TV adaptation of Vikram Seth’s novel “A Suitable Boy” after groups claimed the series also promoted a “love jihad.”