A political Indian analyst has filed a lawsuit against Netflix over an episode in the American sitcom ‘The Big Bang Theory’ for demeaning Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit.
In the legal notice, political analyst Mithun Vijay Kumar wants the streaming giant to remove the first episode of season 2 where Kunal Nayyar’s character Raj Koothrapalli and Jim Parsons’s character Sheldon Cooper compare Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit.
Recently, I came across an episode of the show Big Bang Theory on Netflix where Kunal Nayyar’s character uses an offensive and derogatory term to refer to the legendary Bollywood actress @MadhuriDixit. As a fan of Madhuri Dixit since childhood, I was deeply disturbed by the… pic.twitter.com/pvRCKd5Ne4
— Mithun Vijay Kumar (@MVJonline) March 22, 2023
In the scene in question, Sheldon Cooper calls Aishwarya Rai a poor man’s Madhuri Dixit. In response to his comment, Raj Koothrapalli replies, “Aishwarya Rai is a goddess, by comparison, Madhuri Dixit is a leprous prostitute”.
Read more: Felt free and independent in US: Madhuri Dixit on protected environment
Kumar said the character’s comments are both disrespectful and defamatory. He has asked Netflix to remove the episode or face legal action for promoting discrimination against women. The notice has been sent to the Netflix office in Mumbai, as per the news agency.
For him, itt 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. ‘The Big Bang Theory’, which was created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, debuted in 2007 and ended its 12-season run in 2019.
