An advocate on Wednesday filed a petition in the Delhi High Court demanding that certain scenes from the new Netflix series Sacred Games be deleted, reported Bar and Bench. Petitioner Nikhil Bhalla alleged that the scenes were derogatory to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
The plea was placed before Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar. Justice Mittal recused herself without giving any reason. The matter will now be heard by a different bench on Thursday.
The petitioner alleged that the show has scenes where derogatory language has been used against Rajiv Gandhi. The former prime minister is referred to as “fattu” in one of the scenes. While the word “fattu” was initially subtitled as “pussy”, it has since been changed to “wimp”. The petition also alleges that the show “incorrectly depicts historical events of the country like Bofors case, Shah Bano case, Babri Masjid case and communal riots”, reported PTI.
Meanwhile, the All India Cine Workers’ Association filed a First Information Report with the police on Wednesday, against the producers of the web series, and actor Nawazuddin Siddique, ANI reported. The association also claimed that the show maligns Gandhi’s image.
Bhalla’s plea came a day after a Congress party member, Rajeev Kumar Sinha, lodged a police complaint in Kolkata against the global streaming service and actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, among others, for allegedly insulting the former prime minister. Sinha also had a problem with the same scene from the fourth episode. He also noted that the series “crosses all limits of decency and has taken the Indian film industry to a new low”.
Season one of Sacred Games, adapted from Vikram Chandra’s novel of the same name and directed by Vikramaditya Motwane and Anurag Kashyap, consists of eight episodes. It was released on July 6. The series tells the story of Mumbai police officer Sartaj Singh (Saif Ali Khan), who is investigating the suicide of Mumbai ganglord Ganesh Gaitonde (Siddiqui). Radhika Apte plays a Research and Analysis Wing agent.
Sacred Games has also drawn brickbats from the Hindu Right Wing on Twitter, who allege that the series has hurt upper-caste Hindu sentiments. They have problems with several sequences.
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