Netflix removes Indian film with meat-eating scene after Hindu backlash

Netflix has taken down an Indian language movie from its platform following criticism on social media for its portrayal of a Hindu priest’s daughter consuming meat.

Hindus, who make up India’s largest religious group, and Hindu priests and their families are typically vegetarian.

“Annapoorani – The Goddess of Food”, a Tamil-language film that premiered in theaters in December and later became available on Netflix, is no longer accessible on the international streaming platform as of Thursday.

Representatives of Netflix in India did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Protesters from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a hardline Hindu organization linked to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, demonstrated against Netflix and the movie at the company’s Mumbai office on Wednesday, according to a post by VHP spokesperson Shriraj Nair on X, a platform that was previously known as Twitter.

The film depicts the daughter of a Hindu temple priest in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu consuming meat and subsequently entering a high-stakes cooking competition in which she prepares meat.

“This film … is intentionally released to hurt Hindu sentiments,” remarked Ramesh Solanki, who identified himself as the head of an organization called “Hindu IT Cell” on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Solanki indicated that he had lodged a complaint with the Mumbai police about the film, citing several scenes that he considered offensive to Hindus.

Streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon, and Disney have frequently faced criticism from conservative religious groups in India, which is one of the world’s largest streaming markets.

In 2021, Amazon issued a rare apology for certain scenes in its series “Tandav”, which was the subject of court cases and complaints for supposedly offending Hindus.

Netflix and Amazon have gained immense popularity in India, which is projected to become a $7 billion market for the industry by 2027, as per Media Partners Asia.

(Reporting by Shilpa Jamkhandikar in Mumbai; Editing by Mark Potter)