Director courts controversy after poster of her documentary shows Goddess Kaali smoking

Chennai, July 4 (IANS) NRI Tamil filmmaker Leena Manimekalai has courted controversy after the poster of her latest documentary 'Kaali' showed Goddess Kaali, revered by millions, smoking a cigarette.

This has sparked outrage on social media and many are calling for the arrest of the filmmaker.

Netizens have come out stating that the poster is an insult to the Hindu community and that the filmmaker must put out an unconditional apology or face legal action. The micro-blogging platform Twitter is trending with the hashtag #ArrestLeenaManimekhalai with the netizens letting out their ire against the filmmaker.

The poster of the documentary which was shared by Leena Manimekalai on Twitter depicts a woman dressed in the costume of Goddess Kaali smoking a cigarette. The poster also shows the actor cast as Kaali in addition to her trident and sickle wielding the LBGTQ+ community's rainbow flag.

Soon after she shared the poster on Twitter, the director was at the receiving end, and the social media users asked the Aga Khan Museum where the film was launched to take it down immediately.

Several people have appealed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the PMO to take action as the poster was blasphemous to Hindus.

The director however tweeted and said "The film talks about the events when Kaali appears in an evening and takes a stroll in the streets of Toronto. Once you watch the movie you will change the hashtag from #ArrestLeenaManimekalai to a love you Leena Manimekalai'.

The filmmaker also tweeted in Tamil and said that she has nothing to lose and wanted to be a voice that speaks without fear of anything. In another tweet, she said , "If the price is my life, I will give it."

A police complaint has been filed against the director. Advocate Vineet Jindal filed the complaint against the director for the poster of Goddess Kaali smoking a cigarette. The lawyer in his complaint mentioned that the poster was objectionable and offensive. He said that such instances should not be tolerated and legal action should be taken against her.

In a tweet, Vineet Jindal said that he had filed a complaint and the Delhi police have registered an FIR against the director Leena Manimekalai. He said, "The way this lady has portrayed Goddess Kaali smoking and having an LGBT flag in the background is completely offensive and objectionable. Whatever it is, it could be controversy, it could be a way to escalate their name. But one thing, I must tell you is that this should not be tolerated and legal action should be taken against her. I have filed a complaint against this lady and the Delhi police have lodged an FIR against her."