A call to seek police investigation was raised on November 22 by a Madhya Pradesh government minister after scenes in OTT platform Netflix's series A Suitable Boy depicted a Hindu girl kiss a Muslim boy against the backdrop of a Hindu temple.
The series by Netflix is directed by Mira Nair and inspired by Vikram Seth's eponymous novel.
“It has extremely objectionable scenes that have hurt the feelings of a particular religion,” said Madhya Pradesh home minister Narottam Mishra on Twitter.
Mishra also called for a police investigation into the matter. Since then, many Indians have taken to Twitter to share their views on the matter, making #BoycottNetflixIndia trend on the microblogging site.
“There are so many such scenes in the series which hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus. I have taken objection to the scene and have asked officers to inquire into the matter and examine the scenes to know the purpose behind filming such obscene scenes in the temple premises. Action will be taken against the producer and director of these scenes,” Hindustan Times quoted him as saying.
Gaurav Tiwari, a leader of the youth wing of India’s ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which also governs Madhya Pradesh, has filed a separate complaint against Netflix and warned of street protests by Hindus if the series is not taken off the platform, Reuters reported.
ALSO READ: A Suitable Boy review: Netflix brings in fabulous supporting cast, but is it enough?
Mishra also said if the OTT platform didn't remove these scenes, he would protest against the OTT platform and the director and producer of the web series for promoting Love Jihad and insulting Hindu sentiments.
The police has ordered an inquiry into the matter.
Prashant Patel Umrao, a practicing Advocate at Supreme Court of India said:
Here are some of the other reactions:
Earlier this month, the government announced rules to regulate content on video streaming platforms including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Walt Disney’s Hotstar.
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