The creators of Made In Heaven 2 have been generating headlines since its release, following allegations made by Dalit author Yashica Dutt. She claimed that they used her work without obtaining permission or providing proper credit.
The controversy surrounding the episode directed by Neeraj Ghaywan in Season 2 of Made in Heaven (MIH) has evolved further. Author Yashica Dutt has criticised the creators for their seemingly confrontational response to her request for credit regarding the appropriation of her life in the episode featuring Radhika Apte as a Dalit bride opting for a Buddhist wedding.
Dutt recently also disclosed that she had a meeting with one of the writer-directors, Alankrita Shrivastava, in July 2022. Now, in response to these allegations, Alankrita Shrivastava has taken to her Twitter account to deny them.
Yashica Dutt's Revelation
Yashica Dutt expressed her views on social media, stating that in response to her request for acknowledgement, the creators of MIH released a statement that she found hostile, dismissing her claim as "misleading". She questioned whether this label also applied to the situation when Alankrita Shrivastava, the writer/director of MIH, personally sought a meeting with her in New York on July 15, 2022, which extended for five hours.
She then recounted how the correspondence with the writer-director ceased without any follow-up emails. Dutt shared her expectation of receiving a subsequent email in her inbox, but she received none. Surprisingly, a year later, she discovered that Shrivastava was involved in a show that had seemingly incorporated not only her likeness but also aspects of their extensive conversation into the screen adaptation.
She lamented that this narrative had been twisted to favour the interests of mainstream indie Bollywood, attempting to present them as progressive on-screen while simultaneously neglecting to provide credit or recognition to real Dalit individuals whose stories were appropriated without consent.
Alankrita Shrivastava's Response
Responding to these allegations, Alankrita Shrivastava utilised her Twitter account to counter the claims and emphasise the timeline of events. She clarified that the episode featuring the Pallavi Menke story was filmed in October 2021, while her meeting with Yashica Dutt took place in July 2022. Neeraj Ghaywan also shared this update on his Instagram Story, corroborating Alankrita's clarification.
The controversy initially surfaced a few weeks ago when Yashica Dutt, the author, asserted that the episode involving Radhika Apte in Season 2 of Made in Heaven was heavily inspired by her own life and her written work, Coming Out as Dalit: A Memoir. Dutt expressed admiration for the episode's portrayal of a Dalit woman's Buddhist inter-caste wedding but claimed that her contributions had been overlooked. Subsequently, the show's creators issued a statement refuting these allegations.
Suggested Reading: After Yashica Dutt, Tarun Tahiliani Slams Made In Heaven 2 Over Credit
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