Steve Hannah, the website's chief executive, apologised to the best actress nominee, saying that "no person should be subjected to such a senseless, humorless comment masquerading as satire".
The present chief minister of the state, J Jayalalitha, was once a star actress and her mentor MG Ramachandran, who also ruled the state, was a stage actor turned movie star.
The diverse judging panel includes TV presenters Ruby Wax and Dermot O'Leary, comedian and actress Nina Wadia, advertising boss Matthew Freud and former Channel 4 chief executive Michael Grade.