Before Kaali, Leena Manimekalai was in midst of controversies for these films
By Team Newsable | First Published Jul 5, 2022, 3:13 PM ISTFIRs have been registered against filmmaker Leena Manimekalai in UP and Delhi over the Kaali poster controversy.
The Uttar Pradesh and Delhi Police on Tuesday registered FIRs against filmmaker Leena Manimekalai over the poster of her performing documentary ‘Kaali’. Leena has been booked for ‘hurting religious sentiments' as the poster shows Goddess Kaali smoking a cigarette, along with holding an LGBTQ flag.
The ‘Kaali’ controversy erupted on Monday when the documentary film’s poster made its way to social media. Soon after its release, there was a massive uproar against filmmaker Leena Manimekalai with demands for arrest. This was followed by FIRs against the filmmakers.
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However, this is not the first time that Leena Manimekalai has found herself in the midst of a controversy. In past too, the filmmaker made it to the headlines for her films, but for all the wrong reasons.
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Leena Manimekalai released her first feature film ‘Sengadal’ in the year 2011. The film was based on the fishermen of Dhanushkodi. There was a lot of controversy regarding this film; the ruckus increased so much that the film was delayed for a longer period. In fact, Leena also landed in a legal soup for the film.
Not only this but Leena Manimekalai’s film was also refused a certificate by the Censor Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The board said that many derogatory and political remarks have been made in Sengadal on the Indian and Sri Lankan governments.
Another film that Leena Manimekalai created was ‘White Van Stories’. The documentary feature film revolved around the families of those who disappeared in the North, East and South Provinces of Sri Lanka. This film too found itself surrounded by controversies.
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Leena Manimekalai’s personal life: Leena had faced many struggles including socio, family and financial troubles while growing up. She hails from the remote village of Maharajapuram, located in the south of Madurai. The village where Leena was born and brought up reportedly had a ritual wherein it was customary to marry a girl to her maternal uncle as soon as she reached adolescence.
When Leena Manimekalai came to know about this practice, she ran away from home at the time of her marriage. After this, she reached Chennai where she applied for a job in the office of Tamil magazine ‘Vikatan’.
After her father's death, Leena decided to publish her doctoral thesis on Tamil director P Bharathiraja, written by her father, in book form. She went back to Chennai to get this book published. During this, she also met filmmaker P Bharathiraja, whom she reportedly fell in love with.
The news of Leena Manimekalai's relationship with the director made a lot of headlines back then, reportedly. Soon after the rumour about them spread, Leena’s mother stopped eating and asked her to return home, leaving everything behind. Leena’s film film ‘Mathamma’ was released in the year 2002.
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