Annapoorani: The Goddess of Food is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Nilesh Krishnaa in his directorial debut and jointly produced by Jatin Sethi and R. Ravindran under Zee Studios, Naad Sstudios and Trident Arts. The film stars Nayanthara in the title role, alongside Jai, Sathyaraj and Achyuth Kumar. It follows Annapoorani, who aspires to become a chef, but faces numerous obstacles while trying to fulfill her dream.
| Annapoorani: The Goddess of Food | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Nilesh Krishnaa |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by | Nilesh Krishnaa |
| Dialogues by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Sathyan Sooryan |
| Edited by | Praveen Anthony |
| Music by | Thaman S |
Production companies |
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Release date |
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Running time | 146 minutes[1] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
| Box office | ₹5.70 crore[2] |
The film was officially announced in July 2022, with the tentative title Nayanthara 75, as it is Nayanthara's 75th film in the lead role, while the title of the film was announced in October 2023. Principal photography commenced in April 2023 in Chennai along with a schedule held in Tiruchirappalli and wrapped by mid-September 2023. The film has music composed by Thaman S, cinematography handled by Sathyan Sooryan and editing by Praveen Anthony.
Annapoorani was released in theatres on 1 December 2023, received mixed reviews from critics and underperformed at the box office. After its streaming debut on Netflix, the film elicited accusations of promoting love jihad and hurting Hindu sentiments, resulting in it being taken down from Netflix worldwide.
Plot
editAnnapoorani is an aspiring chef who wants to pursue a degree in hotel management and climb the ladder to become a corporate chef like her idol, Chef Anand Sundarajan. Her family's lineage has been dedicated to serving at the Srirangam temple, where her father cooks the food offered to devotees as prasadam. The family being Brahmin eats only vegetarian food. Annapoorani's father refuses to let her be in a room where meat is served and cooked, let alone pursuing a degree where she is forced to handle meat.
However, Annapoorani remains steadfast in her decision to be a chef and secretly joins a hotel management course at the same university where her parents believe she is doing an MBA. She is then caught one day by her father, eating chicken, and is then forced into a matrimonial alliance. On the day of her wedding, she runs away with her friend Farhaan to Chennai. She then manages to get a job at the same hotel where her idol works and strives to be the best possible chef. She impresses the visiting president of France and is promoted to Chef de cuisine.
Anand's son Ashwin, also a chef, slowly grows jealous of Annapoorani and sabotages her by staging an oven accident leading to her acquiring Ageusia, and her taste buds becoming inactive. Through hard work, she manages to train to be the best chef in India and manages to win despite losing her sense of taste.
Cast
edit- Nayanthara as Annapoorani Rangarajan (voice dubbed by Deepa Venkat)
- Ovi Bhandarkar as young Annapoorani
- Jai as Farhan, Annapoorani's classmate and love interest
- Sathyaraj as Chef Anand Sundarajan
- Achyuth Kumar as Rangarajan, Annapoorani's father (Voice by Jayaprakash)
- K. S. Ravikumar as 'Arusuvai' Annamalai
- Karthik Kumar as Chef Ashwin Sundarrajan, Anand's son
- Renuka as Saradha, Annapoorani's mother
- Sachu as Subbulakshmi Paati, Annapoorani's grandmother
- Redin Kingsley as Chinto Chin, Annapoorani's classmate and friend
- Suresh Chakravarthy as Chef Suman
- Parvathi T as Farhan's mother
- Poornima Ravi as Keerthi, Annamalai's daughter and Annapoorani's classmate and friend
- Chef RK as Chef Raju Karthikeyan
- TSR as Chef Vadamaalai
- Baby Samyuktha as young Keerthi
- Som Shekhar as Santhosh
- Mohamed Irfan as a YouTuber
- Priyadarshini Rajkumar as Keerthi's houseowner
- Thidiyan as Chef
- Jagan Krishnan as Audience Member
Production
editDevelopment
editOn 12 July 2022, Zee Studios, Naad SStudios and Trident Arts announced their jointly produced film, with Nilesh Krishnaa in his directorial debut, and Nayanthara in the lead role. It was tentatively titled as Nayanthara 75. Krishnaa previously was a co-writer for Shankar, co-writing films such as 2.0 (2018) and Indian 2.[3] The film marks Nayanthara's first film in the lead role after her wedding to Vignesh Shivan in June 2022. The same month, Jai, Sathyaraj and Redin Kingsley were cast for supporting roles, with the former reuniting with Nayanthara after Raja Rani (2013).[4]
On 8 April 2023, cinematographer Sathyan Sooryan, music composer Thaman S, editor Praveen Anthony and art director Durairaj were announced being part of the crew.[5] The same day, Redin Kingsley, Suresh Chakravarthy and Renuka were announced being part of the cast.[6] Krishnaa revealed that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he narrated the script of the film during a phone call to Nayanthara. He further revealed that he wrote the script with her in mind. He further announced that K. S. Ravikumar and Achyuth Kumar were part of the cast, with the latter playing the role of Nayanthara's character's father.[7] On 25 October, the title Annapoorani was announced through a promotional video. It is a reference to the Hindu goddess of food, Annapurna.[8]
Filming
editPrincipal photography commenced on 9 April 2023, with the first schedule in Chennai. Filming began with the blessings from the actor Rajinikanth.[9] Within three days, the schedule concluded. After a short break, the second schedule began by mid-April in Tiruchirappalli.[10] Filming wrapped by 16 September.[11]
Music
editThe music and background score is composed by Thaman S, in his fourth collaboration with Nayanthara after Anjaneyulu (2009), Greeku Veerudu (2013), and Godfather (2022); maiden with Krishnaa. The audio rights for the film were acquired by Saregama.[12] The first single "Ulagai Vella Pogiraal" was released on Nayanthara's 39th birthday (18 November 2023),[13] and the second single "Life Is On" was released on 23 November 2023.[14]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ulagai Vella Pogiraal" | Vivek | Harini | 3:04 |
| 2. | "Life Is On" (Version 1 – Veg) | Vivek | B. Harshini Nethra, V.M. Shreenitha, Colorvedi Gokul, V. Shivathmika | 3:25 |
| 3. | "Life Is On" (Version 2 – Non-Veg) | Vivek | B. Harshini Nethra, V.M. Shreenitha, Colorvedi Gokul, V. Shivathmika | 3:12 |
| 4. | "Ivalo Ivalo" | Vivek | Punya Selva, V. Shivathmika | 2:31 |
| 5. | "Aduppil Pogai Aagum" | Vivek | Deepti Suresh | 2:55 |
| 6. | "Maula Mera Maula" | Shyam Renganathan | Sandilya Pisapati | 4:13 |
| Total length: | 19:20 | |||
Release
editTheatrical
editAnnapoorani was released in theatres on 1 December 2023.[15]
Home media
editThe post-theatrical streaming rights of the film were bought by ZEE5, and the satellite rights by Zee Tamil.[16] However, the streaming rights were later changed to Netflix. The film began streaming on Netflix from 29 December 2023,[17] but was taken down a month later. Since then, the film is only officially available for viewing on Simply South, a streaming service that does not legally work in India.[18]
Reception
editBox office
editAnnapoorani: The Goddess of Food earned ₹60 lakh (US$72,000) on the opening day.[19] Janani K of India Today described it as a box office failure, attributed the underperformance to Cyclone Michaung and its aftermath.[20]
Critical response
editAnnapoorani: The Goddess of Food received mixed reviews from critics.[19]
Janani K of India Today rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars, saying it "could have been more delectable had it focused on selected ideas instead of feeling the need to force-feed messages on many topics."[21] M. Suganth of The Times of India rated the film 3 out of 5, saying "Nayanthara uses her screen presence to make us root for Annapoorani and her superstardom to spell out the messages of women empowerment that the film wants to convey."[22]
Raisa Nasreen of Times Now rated the film 3 out of 5, saying "Nayanthara's Culinary Triumph Unveiled In Feast of Tradition, Aspiration And Comedy."[23] Akchayaa Rajkumar of The News Minute rated the film 3.5 out of 5, saying "Despite its imperfect politics and occasional logical fallacies, Annapoorani makes for a refreshing watch, reminiscent of the wholesome, slice-of-life Tamil films before the era of big guns, ear-shattering explosions, and blood spill."[24]
P. Sangeetha of OTTplay rated the film 2.5 out of 5, saying "Nayanthara's Annapoorani: The Goddess of Food falls short of becoming a delectable spread due to its weak writing and long-drawn screenplay. A one-time watch."[25] Avinash Ramachandran of Cinema Express rated the film 2.5 out of 5, stating "For a film based on food, it is disappointing that Annapoorani doesn't have those mouthwatering frames that make us hungry. The background score and songs by Thaman are too coercive and scream 'empowerment' a bit too vehemently. While I get what the makers were going for with the animated portions in the film, it didn't come across, and it was as distracting as the increased use of the green screen in many scenes."[26]
Controversy
editThe film elicited controversy after its Netflix release, with activist Ramesh Solanki and the Hindutva organisation Vishva Hindu Parishad filing an FIR against the streaming company and the filmmakers for allegedly promoting love jihad and for hurting the feelings of the Brahmin community.[27] The complaint also alleged that the film made inaccurate remarks on the Hindu deity Rama being a meat-eater.[28][29] Following the controversies, the film was taken down by Netflix worldwide.[30][31][32] Filmmakers such as R. Parthiban, Vetrimaaran and Pa. Ranjith questioned the veracity of the complaints to take down the film,[33][34][35] while other celebrities criticised Netflix for yielding to pressure from "fringe elements".[27] On 18 January, Nayanthara apologised for the controversy over the film saying she and her team did not intend to hurt anyone's sentiments.[36]
References
edit- ^ "Annapoorani". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
- ^ "Annapoorani Day 10 Box Office Collection Worldwide". Box Office Business. December 2023. Archived from the original on 3 January 2024. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ^ "Nayanthara to begin shooting for her 75th film soon". The Times of India. 12 July 2022. Archived from the original on 1 August 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
- ^ "Nayanthara's first film after her wedding is also her 75th!". The Times of India. 13 July 2022. Archived from the original on 21 July 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
- ^ "Post 'Varisu' success, Thaman roped in for 'Nayanthara 75'". The Times of India. 8 April 2023. Archived from the original on 14 August 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
- ^ "Sathyaraj & Redin Kingsley join Nayanthara's film with Nilesh Krishnaa". The Times of India. 8 April 2023. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
- ^ "Nayanthara reunites with Raja Rani co-stars Jai and Sathyaraj". The Times of India. 12 April 2023. Archived from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
- ^ "Nayanthara's 75th film titled 'Annapoorani'". The Times of India. 25 October 2023. Archived from the original on 19 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
- ^ "'Lady Superstar 75' kick starts with Rajinikanth's blessings". The Times of India. 9 April 2023. Archived from the original on 18 July 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
- ^ "It's a schedule wrap for 'Lady Superstar 75'; The team to move to Trichy next". The Times of India. 11 April 2023. Archived from the original on 10 May 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
- ^ "Dubbing begins for Nayanthara75". The Times of India. 16 September 2023. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
- ^ "Ulagai Vella Pogiraal song from Annapoorani out". Cinema Express. 19 November 2023. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
- ^ "Ulagai Vella Pogiraal: Nayanthara's Annapoorani drops first single; bold stride in women's narrative". Pinkvilla. 18 November 2023. Archived from the original on 19 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
- ^ Zee Studios South [@zeestudiossouth] (22 November 2023). "Single drop alert!! #LifeisOn second single from #Annapoorani – The Goddess of Food ft. #Nayanthara and @Actor_Jai releasing tomorrow at 6pm" (Tweet). Retrieved 22 November 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Nayanthara's 'Annapoorani' to release on December 1". The Times of India. 31 October 2023. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
- ^ Menon, Akhila (3 December 2023). "Annapoorani OTT release – This streaming platform bags the digital rights of Nayanthara's film". OTTPlay. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ "Nayanthara's 'Annapoorani' to make its digital premiere!". The Times of India. 24 December 2023. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ "After Netflix ban, how to watch Nayanthara's Annapoorani on OTT". OTTPlay. 11 January 2024. Archived from the original on 7 May 2024. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ a b "Annapoorani box office collection Day 1 – Nayanthara starrer hit by poor occupancy; earns ₹60 lakh". OTTPlay. 2 December 2023. Archived from the original on 3 December 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ^ K, Janani (11 January 2024). "Explained: Nayanthara's 'Annapoorani' controversy and why Netflix is under fire". India Today. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
- ^ K, Janani (1 December 2023). "Annapoorani Review: Nayanthara's empowerment film is crammed with too many ideas". India Today. Archived from the original on 1 December 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ Suganth, M. (1 December 2023). "Annapoorani: The Goddess Of Food Movie Review : This feel-good film is agreeably cooked to cater for a broad palate". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 3 December 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ^ Nasreen, Raisa (1 December 2023). "Annapoorani Movie Review: Nayanthara's Culinary Triumph Unveiled In Feast of Tradition, Aspiration And Comedy". Times Now. Archived from the original on 1 December 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ^ Rajkumar, Akchayaa (1 December 2023). "Annapoorani review: Nayanthara is the soul of this slightly undercooked food film". The News Minute. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ^ Sangeetha, P (1 December 2023). "Annapoorani- The Goddess of Food Review: Nayanthara's film is a predictable fare". OTTPlay. Archived from the original on 3 December 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ^ Ramachandran, Avinash (1 December 2023). "Annapoorani Movie Review: This palatable Nayanthara star vehicle needs more seasoning". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 3 December 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ^ a b "Netflix removes 'Annapoorani' after right-wing groups accuse Nayanthara-starrer of promoting love jihad". Onmanorama. 11 January 2024. Archived from the original on 14 January 2024. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
- ^ "Police complaint filed against Nayanthara's 'Annapoorani' for hurting religious sentiments". Onmanorama. 7 January 2024. Archived from the original on 10 January 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ^ Sengupta, Shuddhabrata (13 January 2024). "Like it Or Not, Ram Did Eat Meat in the 'Ramayan'". The Wire. Archived from the original on 13 January 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
- ^ "Netflix Pulls 'Annapoorani' After Hindutva Outrage Over 'Ram Eats Meat' Dialogue". The Wire. 11 January 2024. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ "Netflix removes Indian film with meat-eating scene after Hindu backlash". Reuters. 11 January 2024. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ Frost, Caroline (14 January 2024). "Netflix Pulls Indian Film From Platform After Backlash From Political Groups". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 14 January 2024. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
- ^ Chennai Times [@chennaitimestoi] (13 January 2024). "While talking about Nayanthara-starrer Annapoorani pulled from OTT, Actor-Director Parthiban expressed his viewpoint". Archived from the original on 14 January 2024. Retrieved 14 January 2024 – via Instagram.
- ^ Chennai Times [@chennaitimestoi] (13 January 2024). "Voicing out for Annapoorani row, Director Pa Ranjith, shared his viewpoint with us, He says, "Taking down the film for this is not good. This is a threat to creativity. In a democratic country, we cannot ban or threaten creativity. To cut down the voice of a film like Annapoorani – even after it was censored – is very wrong. It is strange to note that the production company didn't fight back. If there was a fight, we would have all supported them."". Archived from the original on 14 January 2024. Retrieved 14 January 2024 – via Instagram.
- ^ "Vetrimaaran on Nayanthara's Annapoorni being taken off Netflix: 'These decisions will question the authority of CBFC'". The Indian Express. 17 January 2024. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ "Nayanthara's apology note after 'Annapoorni' row, begins with 'Jai Shri Ram'". India Today. 18 January 2024. Archived from the original on 18 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
