Netflix, which streams the popular American sitcom ‘The Big Bang Theory’, is facing legal trouble as political analyst Mithun Vijay Kumar has sent the OTT giant a legal notice over one of the dialogues in the show concerning Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
In one of the episodes, Sheldon Cooper, played by Jim Parsons, calls Aishwarya ‘a poor man’s Madhuri Dixit’, to which Rajesh Koothrapalli, played by Kunal Nayyar, says, ‘Aishwarya Rai is a goddess, by comparison, Madhuri Dixit is a leprous prostitute.’
Now, actor-turned-politician Jaya Bachchan has reacted to this statement. Speaking with ETimes, the veteran actress angrily said, ‘Is this man (Kunal Nayyar) insane? Badi gandi zubaan hai. He needs to be sent to mental asylum. His family should be asked what they think of his comment.’
Besides Jaya Bachchan, Urmila Matondkar and Dia Mirza reacted Nayyar’s statement on the show as well. The former said, ‘What?! I have no idea about the whole episode, so I shouldn’t be commenting. But if it is true, it is beyond outrageous. It shows their extremely cheap mentality. Do they really think this is humorous?’ Dia added, ‘It is disrespectful and distasteful.’
In his statement, Mithun Vijay Kumar said, ‘It is important to hold companies like Netflix accountable for their actions and to ensure that they are sensitive to the cultural values and sentiments of the communities they serve. I strongly believe that streaming service providers have a responsibility to carefully curate the content that they offer on their platforms. It is their duty to ensure that the material they present does not include derogatory, offensive, or defamatory content. I was deeply troubled by the use of a derogatory term in one of the shows on Netflix - Big Bang Theory. This term was used in reference to the acclaimed actress Madhuri Dixit, and it was not only offensive and deeply hurtful but also showed a lack of regard for her dignity.’
‘The Big Bang Theory’ aired successfully from September 24, 2007, to May 16, 2019. It starred Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Melissa Rauch, and Mayim Bialik among others.
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