Leena Manimekalai, a documentary filmmaker, has sparked controversy after she tweeted a poster of her film in which Goddess Kali is depicted as smoking. The tweet was posted on Saturday and shows a woman dressed as the Hindu goddess Kali, smoking a cigarette. A pride flag can be seen in the background.
She tweeted, "Super thrilled to share the launch of my recent film - today at @AgaKhanMuseum as part of its “Rhythms of Canada”... Feeling pumped with my CREW."
Manimekalai has been accused, in a police complaint, of hurting religious sentiments, NDTV reported.
![The filmmaker tweeted, as a response to the outrage, that she has 'nothing to lose'.](https://images.thequint.com/thequint%2F2022-07%2F9d69cb03-2938-41b8-b966-7bffb03f621a%2Fkaali.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fmt=webp&width=720)
Ajay Gautam, who heads the "Gau Mahasabha", filed a complaint to the Delhi Police and the Home Ministry, calling for an FIR against the filmmaker and a ban on the film.
The film is being showcased at the Aga Khan Museum as part of its 'Rhythms of Canada' segment.
"I have nothing to lose. I want to be with a voice that speaks without fear of anything until it is. If the price is my life, I will give it," Leena Manimekalai tweeted (as translated) in response to the outrage.
![The filmmaker tweeted, as a response to the outrage, that she has 'nothing to lose'.](https://images.thequint.com/thequint%2F2022-07%2Fe75ac117-b123-4647-b42f-7baa32a00e71%2Flal.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fmt=webp&width=720)
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