Kaali row: Canada museum issues apology after Indian High Commission's complaint

New Delhi, July 6: The Aga Khan Museum in Toronto on Tuesday expressed its deep regret over "inadvertently causing offence" to members of the Hindu and other faiths.

In a statement, it said, "The Museum deeply regrets that one of the 18 short videos from 'Under the Tent' and its accompanying social media post have inadvertently caused offence to members of the Hindu and other faith communities."

It comes a day after the Indian High Commission in Ottawa urged the Canadian authorities to take down all "provocative material" related to the film after it received complaints from leaders of the Hindu community in Canada about the "disrespectful depiction" of Hindu Gods.

The film was showcased as part of the 'Under the Tent' project at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto.

A poster for a documentary directed by filmmaker Leena Manimekalai drew flak on social media for hurting religious sentiments with the depiction of goddess 'Kaali'.

"We urge the Canadian authorities and the event organisers to withdraw all such provocative material." Under attack over the film poster, Manimekalai 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.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police and the Uttar Pradesh police filed separate FIRs against filmmaker Leena Manimekalai over a controversial poster of her documentary 'Kaali'.

A massive row has erupted after the Madurai-born filmmaker based in Toronto in Canada shared a poster of 'Kaali' on Twitter on Saturday allegedly depicting the goddess in a disrespectful manner. The poster showed the goddess smoking and holding an LGBTQ flag.