BJP leader files police complaint against 'Kaali' producer Leena Manimekalai for 'hurting sentiments of Hindus'
Jul 04, 2022
New Delhi [India], July 4 : Bharatiya Janata Party leader Shivam Chhabra on Monday filed a police complaint against filmmaker Leena Manimekalai for allegedly hurting the sentiments of Hindus through a poster of her documentary 'Kaali'.
For hurting the sentiments of the Hindu society, a complaint was filed with the Delhi Police today against Leena Manimekalai, the producer of the documentary film 'Kaali'. A complaint was filed with Amrutha Guguloth, Deputy Commissioner of Delhi District Police. The complainants demanded punishment against Leena by taking strict action under strict sections of the law, including Section 295A of IPC, Section 79 of IT Act 2000 and Prohibition of Indecent Representation of Women Act, 1986.
Notably, the filmmaker made a tweet on June 2 wherein she shared the poster of the documentary film 'Kaali'. The film and its poster that Leena is referring to is the documentary film is of Goddess Maa Kaali, in which the poster of Maa Kaali is shown smoking a cigarette. Apart from this, the LGBT community's pride flag can also be seen in the background.
The complainant, BJP's media panellist Shivam Chhabra said that every day in the country, there is systematic work going on to hurt the sentiments of Hindus. "This is embarrassing and infuriating. The poster shared by Leena on Twitter is an insult to Hindu society and our deities," BJP leader said. He said that legal action should be taken against Leena, who has hurt the sentiments of crores of Hindus of the country.
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."
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.
