Netflix faces flack in India with ‘A Suitable Boy’.
On Monday an FIR was filed against Monika Shergill who is the Vice President, Content (Netflix) and Ambika Khurana Director, Public Policies (Netflix) in Madhya Pradesh said Home Minister of the State Narottam Mishra. The complaint has been made against them for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments through a web show ‘A Suitable Boy’.
The Rewa police have charged both Ms.Khurana and Ms.Shergill based on a complaint filed by the National Secretary Mr Gaurav Tiwari of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM).
Tiwari raised objections on a scene in the web series which showed two characters Lata and Kabir one Hindu and the other Muslim respectively, kissing in a temple. He also asked the citizens of the country to uninstall Netflix and following this #BoycottNetflix started trending on Twitter. He also accused Netflix of promoting “love jihad”, a term popularly used by Hindu nationalist who accuse minority Muslim men of luring Hindu women to marry them and forcing them to convert to Islam and change India’s demographic balances.
The Mira Nair directed series ‘A Suitable Boy’ which is based on a 1993 novel by Vikram Seth revolves around a young Hindu woman Lata who is struggling with her mother’s command to be wedded as soon as possible. It is originally a BBC produced product, which is a six part series which took place in India after the partition. Millions of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs muddled to get on the right side of the border and an unknown number of people annihilated in the resulting violence.
The Home Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Narottam Mishra on Monday said that a party youth leader has filed a complaint against ‘A Suitable Boy’ show because of the scenes that depict the protagonist kissing at a Hindu Temple.
Referring to the devotional music Mr Mishra said in a press conference on Monday ‘For that there are other places’. He also added “To me there is nothing suitable in that. In our temple if you are filming a kissing scene, Rama music is on in the background, I do not consider it good”.
An investigation is underway, said Rakesh Kumar Singh, the police chief in the district. In case Ms Khurana and Ms Shergill are convicted, they would face a jail term for up to 3 years, a fine or both.
Beyond the issues of religion and faith Netflix and other OTT platforms were already getting increased scrutiny by the Indian Government currently.
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