17 May 2020, 5:00 pm
Amazon Prime Series 'Pataal Lok' come under fire for blatant racism
This article has been preserved from The Voice Of Sikkim historical news collection and reflects information available at the time of its original publication.
Amazon Prime Series 'Pataal Lok' come under fire for blatant racism
How can we expect the general public to respect us when the media itself portrays us in such light?
Popular Amazon Prime series ?Paatal Lok? has come under fire for blatant racism and stereotyping against the nepali/gorkha community in one of their episodes. A character is being referred to as ?Nepali R**di? during police interrogation. Many viewers from the hills were left shocked after watching this scene.
It is unfortunate that Nepalese community is still portrayed in ill way in India. A series of slurs like, ?momo? ?shaabji? etc. were already used for the community. However, this time the makers of Paatal Lok have crossed the line. Even if the character was that of a prostitute, the police should have interrogated her without blatantly screaming out her ethnic identity. If this scene was actually about showing the plight of Nepalese people and how they are mistreated, it could have been accepted. However it was just a filler scene with no further explanation. Such scenes can further fuel the existing stereotypes about women from hills and north east India.
Many racist attacks have already surfaced due to the ongoing corona crisis. Incidents have occurred where people from north-east and Nepalese communities have been called ?corona?, physically abused and and discriminated. If entertainment industry cannot help educate people about different races and communities, they should also not intentionally malign a community?s name.
Gorkha groups in Delhi have already taken notice of this matter and are working on it. The series has been produced by Clean Slate Films, actress Anushka Sharma?s banner.
Netizens Voice