'Made In Heaven 2' Makers React After Yashica Dutt Accuses Them Of Not Giving Her Credit: We Categorically Deny Any Claim

Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti's 'Made In Heaven Season 2' has landed into controversies post its release. Author Yashica Dutt has demanded recognition for taking inspiration from her book, 'Coming Out As Dalit: A Memoir'. The fifth episode in the show, titled 'The Heart Skips A Beat', directed by Neeraj Ghaywan is about a Dalit character Pallavi Menke who is accomplished and outspoken. The character is played by Radhika Apte and the story throws a light on the subject of inter-caste weddings in India. The episode got positive reviews for showing a Dalit wedding and a character in mainstream entertainment. But Dutt is disappointed for not giving her credit for it. 

In a long post, Yashica slammed the makers and asked them to give her credit formally. 

Now, the makers of 'Made In Heaven 2' have responded to the author's claims. In a long Instagram post, they have denied her claims. 

An excerpt from their post read: ''The central conflict of the episode is whether Pallavi should fight to have the wedding rituals that are a signifier of her identity, or not. None of the above is drawn from Yashica Dutt's life or her book - 'Coming Out As Dalit'. We categorically deny any claim that Ms. Dutt's life or work was appropriated by us. 'Coming out' is a 1950's academic LGBTQIA term that was first used by Mr. Sumit Baudh in the Indian caste identity context in 2007. He used this in an article he wrote for Tarshi. A decade later it was used by Ms. Dutt in her book. This term has since become common parlance for reclaiming caste-identity. (sic)”

''Pallavi Menke's fictional book, "Denied" is a hat-tip to several books like Ants Among Elephants by Sujatha Gidla, Caste Matters by Suraj Yengde, Coming Out As Dalit by Yashica Dutt and the Tarshi article by Sumit Baudh. (sic)”, it read further. 

For the unversed, Yashica in her post praised Neeraj for his work but called out the makers as she wrote, “It was surreal to see a version of my life on screen that wasn’t but yet was still me. But soon the heartbreak set in. They were my words but my name was nowhere. What could have been a celebration of our collective ideas was now tinged with sadness. The ideas I cultivated, that are my life’s work, that I continue to receive immense hate still for just speaking, were taken without permission or credit.”