Director Leena Manimekalai courts controversy with poster of her ‘Kaali’ film
4 July, 2022 | Pravina Srivastava
Leena Manimekalai, the director of the documentary, has received criticism on social media for depicting the Hindu goddess Kali on the poster
Leena Manimekalai, the director of the documentary, has received criticism on social media for depicting the Hindu goddess Kali on the poster.
The director, who is from Madurai but now resides in Toronto, had previously shared a poster for her movie on Twitter, showing a lady smoking while wearing a goddess costume. In the distance, one can see the LGBT community’s flag. The director tweeted that the movie was a part of the “Rhythms of Canada” section at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto.
“Thrilled to announce the screening of my most recent movie, which took place today as a part of “Rhythms of Canada” at the @AgaKhanMuseum. With my CREW, I’m thrilled” tweeted Leena.
A portion of social media users have called for the removal of the poster because of how Goddess Kali is portrayed in it.
Some even called for harsh punishment against her, and the Twitter hashtag “#ArrestLeenaManimekal” is currently trending.
“A filmmaker named Leena Manimekalai portrays Hindu gods as cigarette users. She is making fun of Maa Kaali “a Twitter user stated.
Some even called for harsh punishment for her. On Twitter, the hashtag “#ArrestLeenaManimekal” is now trending.
“I call for Leena Manimekalai’s detention. The disrespect for our goddess, Kali Maa, will not be tolerated. This time, we’re going with the Tamil administration. @[email protected]#ArrestLeenaManimekalai, “a tweeter stated.
Some even called for harsh punishment for her. On Twitter, the hashtag “#ArrestLeenaManimekal” is now trending.
Leena has limited comments on her Instagram after receiving backlash on social media.
She posted in Tamil on Twitter “The movie centres on what happens when Kali suddenly arrives and wanders the streets of Toronto one evening. If you see the photo, use the hashtag “love you Leena manimekalai” instead of “arrest Leena manimekalai”.”
Several movies and television shows have already faced criticism for purportedly hurting religious emotions. Twitterati expressed their displeasure with Anurag Basu’s “Ludo” for allegedly propagating “Hinduphobic” material in the film.
The online series “Taandav,” starring Saif Ali Khan, sparked controversy in 2021 for reportedly inciting religious conflict by disparaging Hindu deities.