The production house run by Anushka Sharma that recently launched the new web-series called Pataal Lok which is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video has been receiving positive reviews from all over the country. However, days after its digital release, a legal notice was sent by Viren Sri Gurung, a member of the Lawyers Guild to Anushka Sharma for the use of a casteist slur in the show.
The aforesaid Lawyers Guild was formed to provide support and free-legal advice in the time of the pandemic and is associated with the Chambers of Mr. Pranay Rai & Associates. In an interview with a web portal, Gurung had stated that in the second episode of this series during the interrogation scene, a lady police officer uses a casteist slur on a Nepali character which is played by Mairembam Ronaldo Singh.
He further commented that if only the word ‘Nepali’ would have been used it would not have been a problem. He also said that the words which were used were unacceptable and therefore they had to send a legal notice to Anushka Sharma as she is one of the producers of the show.
The lawyers are yet to receive a response from the production of the show, and they plan to take the matter forward with digital video platform Amazon Prime and other parties involved, if they do not receive a response soon. It was also stated the Gorkha community had also taken a strong objection to the casteist slur in the series and have demanded for the words to be dropped.
On 18th May 2020, an online petition was also filed by the Gorkha community addressed to the Union information and Broadcasting Ministry, the Minister Prakash Javadekar, the producer of the show Anushka Sharma and Amazon Prime Video. They further added that the slur in the series portrays the Nepali women in poor light and that Amazon should mute the slur, blur the subtitles and upload the edited video with an unconditional apology and a suitable disclaimer.
