• Kaali poster row: Filmmaker Leena Manimekalai posts fresh tweet amid outrage

    National
    Kaali poster row: Filmmaker Leena Manimekalai posts fresh tweet amid outrage
    Manimekalai tweeted a photo of two people smoking while dressed as Lord Shiva and a Hindu goddess on Thursday.

    Digital Desk: Filmmaker Leena Manimekalai finds herself at the centre of an uproar over the poster for her film Kaali, where the goddess is shown smoking. After more FIRs were filed against her, Leena shared a new tweet defending herself.

    Manimekalai tweeted a photo of two people smoking while dressed as Lord Shiva and a Hindu goddess on Thursday. The image's caption reads simply "Elsewhere." The picture and the contentious image on the Kaali poster are strikingly similar.


    Leena Manimekalai has experienced major criticism on social media as a result of the release of the poster for her film Kaali. Political parties soon joined the controversy over the poster, which depicts Goddess Kaali smoking and brandishing an LGBTQ pride flag.

    Despite Manimekalai's claims that the film was about a woman walking through Toronto's streets, some right-wing organizations took offence and filed numerous complaints against her, eventually leading to the removal of the film's presentation at Canada's Aga Khan Museum.

    In response to "a legal demand," Twitter removed the original tweet with the movie poster. The filmmaker claimed this action to be humorous. Several FIRs have been filed against the Toronto-based director in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh for allegedly hurting religious emotions.

    Notably, Mahua Moitra, a member of the Trinamool Congress, also became involved in the argument. During a one-on-one interview at the India Today Conclave East, Moitra was questioned about the contentious movie poster and responded that it was perfectly acceptable for her to see Goddess Kaali as a "meat-eating and alcohol-accepting" goddess.