MUMBAI: Netflix has removed an Indian-language film from its platform after the film faced backlash on social media for showing a Hindu priest’s daughter eating meat.
Hindus are India’s largest religious group, and Hindu priests, as well as their families, are typically vegetarian.
“Annapoorani – The Goddess of Food”, a Tamil-language film that was released in theaters in December and streamed on Netflix later that month, has been unavailable on the international streaming platform since Thursday.
Netflix representatives in India did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Wednesday, protesters from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a hardline Hindu organization with ties to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, shouted slogans against Netflix and the film at the company’s Mumbai office, according to a post on X by a VHP spokesperson. Shriraj Nair.
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The film depicts the daughter of a Hindu temple priest in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu as she eats meat and later participates in a high-level cooking competition where she cooks the meat.
“This film … is being released deliberately to hurt Hindu sentiments,” Ramesh Solanki, who identified himself as the head of an organization called the “Hindu IT Cell,” said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Solanki said he had lodged a complaint with the Mumbai police about the film citing several scenes that he said were offensive to Hindus.
Netflix and its competitors such as Amazon and Disney are often the target of criticism from hardline religious groups in India, one of the world’s biggest streaming markets.
In 2021, Amazon offered a rare apology for some scenes from its “Tandav” series, which faced court cases and complaints that it offended Hindus.
Netflix and Amazon have become very popular in India, which will grow into a $7 billion market by 2027, according to Media Partners Asia.
