Multiple FIRs Filed Against Director For Movie Poster Showing Goddess ¡®Kaali¡¯ Smoking Cigarette

Leena Manimekalai finds herself in legal trouble amid a nationwide controversy over the film Kaali's controversial poster. Her "controversial" poster has been the subject of numerous complaints.

The controversial 'Poster':

Twitter

The documentary poster, shared on social media by the Madurai-born filmmaker, depicts a woman dressed in a costume portraying the goddess and smoking a cigarette. A flag of the LGBT community is seen in the background.

There was an uproar on social media for hurting religious sentiments with the depiction of Goddess Kaali. Amid the social-media protest, here is how the country is protesting against Leena.

Uttar Pradesh:

Representational Image

Uttar Pradesh Police has lodged an FIR against director Leena Manimekalai for deliberately hurting religious sentiments by tweeting a poster of her new documentary film ¡®Kaali¡¯, where a woman dressed as the Goddess is shown smoking a cigarette.

UP police register FIR on charges of criminal conspiracy, offense in place of worship, deliberately hurting religious sentiments, intention to provoke breach of peace against filmmaker Leena Manimekalai for her movie 'Kaali' about disrespectful depiction of Hindu Gods pic.twitter.com/YV97J23fcG

¡ª ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) July 5, 2022

An FIR was registered on July 4 at Hazratganj Police Station on charges of criminal conspiracy, offense in the place of worship, deliberately hurting religious sentiments, and intending to provoke a breach of peace against the filmmaker.

The FIR has been lodged under Sections 120-B, 153-B, 295, 295-A, 298, 504, 505(1)(b), 505(2), 66, and 67 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Delhi:

Wikipedia

The Delhi Police IFSO unit has filed the FIR under IPC sections 153A and 295A. Earlier, a lawyer from Delhi, Vineet Jindal, registered a complaint against the filmmaker over the controversial poster, demanding a ban on the objectionable photo and the clip from the documentary showcased at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, Canada.

According to Jindal, 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.

Bihar:

Multiple complaints were filed against the documentary film¡¯s director Leena Manimekalai, and others in two separate courts in Bihar on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, several Patna-based lawyers, including Sunil Kumar Singh, Gauri Shankar Singh, and Kaushal Kumar, filed a joint complaint against the film¡¯s director, Leena Manimekalai, and others before a local court in the state capital and sought registration of an FIR against them. In their complaint, they accused the director and other team members of hurting religious sentiments with the "highly objectionable" poster.

After facing flak over her poster, Leena took to Twitter, defended herself, and urged people to choose "love over hate."

Amid the negative feedback, she tweeted,

Leena Manimekalai/Twitter

"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.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the Indian High Commission urged Canadian authorities to withdraw the disrespectful depiction of Hindu Gods showcased as part of the ¡®Under the Tent¡¯ project at the Aga Khan Museum, Toronto.

Good Indian Govt has taken action on Disrespect to Ma Kaali in Canada.

Entire ecosystem is busy Financing & Enabling such movies. pic.twitter.com/0qQw7Pl7em

¡ª Ishkaran Singh Bhandari (@ishkarnBHANDARI) July 4, 2022

"We urge the Canadian authorities and the event organizers to withdraw all such provocative material," read the Indian High Commission in Canada press release.

(With PTI inputs)

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