Before 'Annapoorani', 5 South Films That Landed In Similar Religious Controversies

Starring Nayanthara, ‘Annapoorani’ was recently taken down from Netflix. An FIR was filed against the film for hurting religious sentiments. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad had accused the film of being “anti-Hindu.” Zee Studios addressed their concerns and said that the film will be pulled down from the OTT platform and will be edited. 

This isn’t the first time a movie from the South film industry has landed in a soup. Here are five other South films that have landed into controversy. 

1. ‘Farhana’ (2023)

This Tamil film sparked outrage among the Muslims in Tamil Nadu. The film showed a young married Muslim woman working at a call center that catered to men. Religious groups had called for a ban on the movie. The police had to deploy security forces around Aishwarya Rajesh’s house who played the lead role in the film. 

2. ‘Vishwaroopam’ (2013)

The release of this Kamal Haasan film was stalled as religious groups claimed that the movie was insulting to Muslims. The film revolves around a Kathak teacher who is connected to the dark world as a spy. The movie was considered controversial for how it depicted terrorists belonging to a certain community. 

3. ‘Karnan’ (2021)

This Mani Selvaraj directorial had a song titled, ‘Pandarathi Puranam.’ However, the makers had to change the name of the song because a petitioner had filed a complaint which claimed that ‘Pandarathi’ was an offensive word in certain communities in Tamil Nadu. The name of the song was, then, changed to ‘Manjanthi Puranam.’ 

4. ‘Thuppakki’ (2012)

This Vijay and Kajal Aggarwal starrer landed in a controversy when Muslim groups claimed the film showed their community in a bad light. Not just the film, but even the lives of the actors were endangered. Vijay fans had come out to call for a ban on the film. A group also attempted to protest outside Vijay’s residence. 

5. ‘FIR’ (2022)

This Tamil crime film was praised by many for its content. But at the same time, religious groups raised a flag on its “objectionable” content. A religious group had demanded the arrest of the lead actor – Vishnu Vishal – because they thought that the film wanted to depict all Muslims as terrorists. The protestors also felt that Vishnu’s character in the film had a resemblance to a religious preacher.