Kaali poster row: Ayodhya priest threatens to 'behead' filmmaker Leena Manimekalai
In a video statement addressed to 'Kaali' filmmaker Leena Manimekalai, a priest in Ayodya said, "Do you want that your head be separated from your body."
FollowA priest at Hanumangarhi temple in Ayodhya on Wednesday threatened to 'behead' filmmaker Leena Manimekalai, who is embroiled in a controversy over the depiction of Goddess Kaali in her documentary.
In a video statement addressed to the Toronto-based director, Mahant Raju Das said, "Do you want that your head be separated from your body." Das also claimed that if this film is released, it will create a situation that will go 'out of control'.
ALSO READ: Twitter removes filmmaker Leena Manimekalai's controversial 'Kaali' poster tweet
Reacting to Das' controversial video statement, Ayodhya Senior Superintendent of Police Prashant Varma told PTI, "We have received such a video, and the matter is being investigated."
Manimekalai, who is in the eye of the proverbial storm over the poster of her film 'Kaali' showing the goddess smoking and holding an LGBTQ flag, is also facing separate FIRs in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. The Lucknow police on Tuesday lodged an FIR against Manimekalai over the controversial poster for hurting religious sentiments.
Meanwhile, Twitter has pulled down Manimekalai's tweet about her documentary 'Kaali', which is currently at the centre of a controversy, in response to "a legal demand". "This Tweet from @LeenaManimekali has been withheld in India in response to a legal demand," read a message in place of the original post.
The Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, which was supposed to show Kaali at an event, expressed regret and removed the documentary from its list of presented films.
ALSO READ: Kaali poster controversy: Indian mission in Canada wants it taken off Toronto exhibition
Under attack for the poster, Manimekalai had on Monday said she will continue to use her voice fearlessly till she is alive. "I have nothing to lose. Till the time I live, I wish to live with a voice that speaks what I believe without fear. If the price for that is my life, it can be given," she wrote in a tweet in Tamil in response to an article on the controversy.
The filmmaker also urged people to watch the documentary to understand the context behind the poster.
(With inputs from PTI)
