The Madhya Pradesh Police issued a lookout circular against filmmaker Leena Manimekalai following outrage over the poster the of film 'Kaali' showing the Hindu goddess smoking and holding the LGBTQ flag. The development came hours after Madhya Pradesh home minister Narottam Mishra said he would urge the Centre to issue a lookout circular against Canada-based film director Manimekalai for hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus.
Earlier on Thursday, Mishra said that Manimekalai's 'Kaali' poster is a deliberate attempt to tarnish the image of goddess Kaali. Mishra, who is also the spokesperson of the government, said that he was writing to Twitter to check alleged derogatory remarks made by some people, which have hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus.
"I am going to write a letter to Twitter on the issue. Twitter should check tweets posted by people having perverted mentality, like the Kaali film director Leena Manimekalai, who posts a photo of goddess Kaali smoking... these people use Twitter as tool to hurt sentiments of Hindus," Mishra said. ALSO READ: Post Kaali poster controversy, Leena Manimekalai shares another pic of Lord Shiva-Parvati smoking
He further said the Madhya Pradesh government will also write to the Centre to issue a lookout circular against Canada-based film maker and the director of 'Kaali'.
The controversy escalated further after Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra said she has every right as an individual to imagine Goddess Kaali as a meat-eating and alcohol-accepting deity, as each person has his or her unique way of offering prayers.
An FIR was already registered against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra at a police station in Bhopal on Wednesday. ALSO READ: Kaali poster row: Swara Bhasker supports TMC MP Mahua Moitra over her 'meat-eating' goddess remark
Leena Manimekalai's recent Tweet
Hours after Twitter pulled down Leena's tweet, she shared another 'debatable' picture. The director, who is in the eye of the proverbial storm over the controversial poster, took to her Twitter handle and dropped a picture, which depicted a man and a woman dressed as Lord Shiva and Parvati, smoking. "Elsewhere…." she captioned the post. Later, the filmmaker took to Twitter to clarify that the photo is not from her film.
Braving the storm over her documentary, Leena on Thursday said she does not feel safe 'anywhere at this moment'. "It feels like the whole nation – that has now deteriorated from the largest democracy to the largest hate machine – wants to censor me. I do not feel safe anywhere at this moment," Manimekalai wrote.
