‘Kaali’ poster: Complaint filed against Leena Manimekalai for hurting religious sentiments, director clarifies

New Delhi [India], July 4 (ANI): Filmmaker Leena Manimekalai has landed in legal trouble after a police complaint was filed against her for hurting religious sentiments through a poster of her documentary ‘Kaali’.
The poster of the film depicted a woman dressed in a costume portraying the goddess and smoking. A flag of the LGBT community is seen in the background.

The portrayal of Goddess Kali in the poster did not go down well with a section of social media users who have demanded the poster be withdrawn. Some even demanded strict action against her and the hashtag ‘#ArrestLeenaManimekal’ is trending on Twitter.
A lawyer from Delhi, Vineet Jindal, registered a complaint against Leena over the controversial poster. He has demanded a ban on the objectionable photo and the clip from the documentary. According to him, a woman dressed as Goddess Kaali smoking a cigarette, is “hurting the sentiments and beliefs of the Hindu community.”
Gau Mahasabha member Ajay Gautam has also filed a complaint against Leena.
After facing flak over her poster, Leena took to Twitter and defended herself.
Urging people to choose ‘love over hate’ amid the negative feedback, she tweeted, “The film revolves around the events that take place one evening, when Kali appears and strolls the streets of Toronto. If you see the picture, don’t put the hashtag “arrest Leena manimekalai” and put the hashtag ‘love you Leena manimekalai.’
Several films and shows have in the past got into trouble for allegedly hurting religious sentiments. Anurag Basu’s ‘Ludo’ faced Twitteratis’ ire for purportedly promoting ‘Hinduphobic’ content in the movie. In 2021, Saif Ali Khan-starrer web series ‘Taandav’ raked up a row for allegedly creating a possibility of religious tension by portraying Hindu Gods in a bad light. (ANI)