It soon went viral, eliciting furious responses from some Indian social media users -- many of whom called for her arrest. Within days, tens of thousands of tweets had appeared with the hashtag #ArrestLeenaManimekalai.

In a statement published Monday, the Indian High Commission in Canada's capital, Ottawa, urged the country's authorities to "take action" against what it called a "disrespectful depiction." The Aga Khan Museum -- having screened an excerpt of the film over the weekend -- then announced that Manimekalai's work was "no longer being shown."

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

Toronto Metropolitan University also distanced itself from the film, expressing "regret" at having "caused offense".

In a statement, the school added: "We are committed to equity, diversity and inclusion while at the same time respecting the diversity of beliefs and points of view in our society."

Manimekalai expressed her disappointment with the two institutions, accusing them of having "traded off academic freedom and artistic freedom to save their skin."