Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma co-producer of the Amazon Prime series Paatal Lok, has been sent a legal notice over a perceived casteist slur in the show, by a member of the Lawyers Guild.
A member of the Lawyers Guild, Viren Sri Gurung, served a notice to Paatal Lok co-producer Anushka Sharma on Monday, May 18, 2020. As of now the actor-producer has not yet responded to the notice. The Lawyers Guild will further get in contact with Amazon Prime and other production houses associated with the show.
According to the Lawyers Guild’s notice, a dialogue in Paatal Lok was extremely offensive to the Nepali speaking Gorkha community. The notice also claims that the usage of this slur is highly problematic right now, as the Nepali community already facing racism due to the stereotypes associated with the Coronavirus pandemic. The scene in question features a policewoman who uses the slur while talking to a Nepali character.
Nepali Communities in India petition the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry to remove the slur in Paatal Lok.
Take a Look:
In a petition Nepali Community asked to mute the words and blurred the subtitles of the web series. The petition also asked an edited episode of the show, without the slur, to replace the original one. Also an apology for the use of the offensive slur.
The petition also mentioned that this fight was not personally against Anushka Sharma. But it is against the stereotypes that were offensive and hurtful to Nepali speaking communities.
Talking to a news portal, Nanda Kirati Dewan, president of the Bharatiya Gorkha Yuva Parisangh, mentioned that the usage of the word was “regressive”. She also added that people should stop consuming content that showed a community in a negative light just for the sake of creative freedom.
Also Read: Paatal Lok Review: Netizens Praises Anushka Sharma’s series; Calls ‘Paatal Lok’ phenomenal
(Source: RepublicWorld)
