On Sunday Afternoon, Twitterattis appealed fellow Indians to #BoycottNetflix, as netizens expressed outrage over a scene from the Netflix miniseries A Suitable Boy. In Mira Nair’s adaption of Vikram Seth's popular novel, the show carries a scene of two characters, one Hindu and Muslim, kissing in a temple.
In the scene Tanya Maniktala's character Lata Mehra is portrayed in an intimate position with Danesh Razvi's Kabir Durrani in a temple. The show, as well as the book, explore themes relating to communal tensions in India and Hindu-Muslim relations in a post-partition setting. The OTT platform carried all the six episodes of Mira Nair's miniseries, which was released in October.
The abovementioned scene appears to have ruffled religious sensibilities, as incensed sections of the internet rallied forth with #BoycottNetflix. Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Gaurav Goel joined the trend and urged people to file a complaint with the local police or court if any OTT platform was “deliberately insulting” Hindu Gods and Goddess. However, the appeal did not carry any mention of 'A Suitable Boy'.
Madhya Pradesh MP Narottam Mishra also expressed his displeasure. In a video message, he said that the content hurts religious sentiments and says it is worthy of legal intervention.
Actor Rahul Mahajan further chimed in to express his dismay. "A Muslim man kissing a Hindu woman during the Ram Aarti was ‘creative freedom’. But when a Hindu man and Muslim women would kiss in a mosque during Azaan, this creative freedom would go missing," he tweeted.
Another user alleged that there is a trend. "Time and again Netflix has shown its hate towards Sanatan Dharma," he said.
A user threatened legal action against the content. "Filed complaint against NetflixIndia for defaming Hindus & India," he wrote. Some called this 'anti-Hindu' and alleged it of defaming the Hindu religion.
Netizens trending #BoycottNetflix also seems to have an issue with Lata Mehra and Kabir Durrani's interfaith relationship represented in the book. The ground is still hot with claims of “love jihad” being revived and increasingly discussed in the socio-political discourse. Recently, Madhya Pradesh became the fifth state to declare its intention of announcing a ban on “love jihad”.
The miniseries produced by BBC was released on October 23 in India. It is based on Vikram Seth's sprawling novel of the same name published in 1993. It traces the lives of four families -- delving into social, cultural, and religious structures that made up life in a post-partition, independent India.
