- By Piyali Bhadra
- Tue, 15 Aug 2023 11:25 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
'Made In Heaven 2's fifth episode directed by Neeraj Ghaywan has been a topic of discussion since the series dropped last week on Amazon Prime Video. The sequel dealt with several societal issues and also showcased the issue of casteism in modern India. Featuring Radhika Apte as Pallavi Menke, a Dalit author, who is proud of her identity and stands up for her community, the episode features a beautiful Dalit-Buddhist wedding. However, on Monday, author and journalist Yashica Dutt revealed that the makers used her idea without giving her credit.
Yashica Dutt's book 'Coming Out As Dalit', takes a snapshot of the state of Dalits in India. She appreciated the performance of Radhika Apte but slammed the makers for showcasing a version of her life on screen without her permission. Yashica shared a scene from the series with her statement on the episode. As she praised the makers, she also questioned them for not 'duly acknowledging her contribution.'
Made in Heaven S2 E5 pic.twitter.com/SbFTHzi6w5
— Nakshatra (@ghalibkakhayal) August 10, 2023
Sharing her views on Instagram, she wrote, "It's been an overwhelming few days. Seeing my likeness on screen without warning or permission was a roller-coaster starting from thrill and excitement to sadness and loss. I continue to support @neeraj.ghaywan's excellent work, whether now with Made in Heaven or Geeli Pucchi before. But this needs to be addressed."
In the note, she further mentioned, "Before I came out as Dalit in 2016, there was no vocabulary to identify the process of revealing your Dalitness after hiding it for years and owning it with pride either. Today, in 2023, there is both. Dalit directors like Neeraj Ghaywan have revolutionized our cinematic language by showcasing unapologetic Dalits in Bollywood, a tradition that has an even longer history in Southern cinema."
She also wrote, "The Heart Skipped a Beat, the fifth episode of Prime Video's Made in Heaven is no less than a cinematic triumph, when it comes to showcasing what it truly looks like for a Dalit woman to take her power back in this casteist society."
View this post on Instagram
Yashica then shared her reaction to the episode and wrote, "The scene where the Dalit author, who is from Columbia, has written a book about 'coming out' and talks about her grandmother 'manually cleaning toilets', asserts her selfhood with her life partner-to-be, gave me chills. It was surreal to see a version of my life on screen that was not, but yet was still me. But soon the heartbreak set in. They were my words, but my name was nowhere... The ideas I cultivated, that are my life's work, that I continue to receive immense hate for just speaking, were taken without permission or credit."
Concluding the writing, she said, "I request Neeraj Ghaywan, and the show creators Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti to formally acknowledge my life's work and ideas that contributed to this episode, which is among the most-talked in the entire series, beyond a post on social media and within the show's credits. So that the millions of viewers know its central ideas were not created out of ether, but out of the blood, sweat and a lifetime of tears of a Dalit woman that the world had decided to cast aside."
Talking about 'Made In Heaven 2', the series is created by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti and is headlined by Sobhita Dhulipala and Karan Mehra. The directors of this season include Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, Alankrita Shrivastava, Nitya Mehra, and Neeraj Ghaywan.