After Dr. BR Ambedkar's grandson, Prakash Ambedkar heaped praises on the fifth episode of Made In Heaven 2 starring Radhika Apte, Dalit author and journalist Yashica Dutt called out the makers for depicting her life's work without permission and not giving credit. Neeraj Ghaywan, who directed the episode titled The Heart Skipped a Beat, shows Radhika as a successful Dalit author Pallavi Menke, fighting against all odds to have a Buddhist wedding.
Dutt, who rose to fame with the book, ‘Coming Out as Dalit', shared a long note with the caption, "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."
Dutt’s note read, “I immensely appreciate Neeraj Ghaywan's public Instagram where he acknowledges my work and contribution to the show. But it also came AFTER hundreds of viewers questioned about my missing credentials, not before. And does very little for the millions of the global viewers of this Amazon Prime show. The Hindi Film/TV space has a notorious and historic pattern of taking anything from everywhere to create its narratives. Dalit thought, ideas, and labor have always been consumed and up for the taking. Now, when are showing more Dalits on screen, let's also duly acknowledge those of us who contributed to creating those ideas.”
“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 its viewers know one its central ideas was 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,” she added.
Made in Heaven Season 2 stars Sobhita Dhulipala, Arjun Mathur, Jim Sarbh, Kalki Koechlin, Shashank Arora, Shivani Raghuvanshi, Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju, Mona Singh, and Vijay Raaz in the lead roles. Directed by Alankrita Shrivastava, Neeraj Ghaywan, Nitya Mehra, Reema Kagti, and Zoya Akhtar, and produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar’s Excel Media and Entertainment and Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti’s Tiger Baby, the 7-episode series was released on August 10 on Amazon Prime Video.
