The much-anticipated series Made In Heaven 2 has been in the news since its release, albeit for all the wrong reasons. The series follows the lives of two wedding planners Tara (Sobhita Dhulipala) and Karan (Arjun Mathur) and in each episode, a new wedding and the challenges it comes with, it showcased. The 5th episode of MIH2, 'The Heart Skipped A Beat' features Radhika Apte who portrays the role of a Dalit author, fighting for equal representation in society and her wedding.
Week after the show is released, author Yashica Dutt, who is a Dalit herself, claims that it was her life that inspired the character of Pallavi Menke. In a series of pictures, the makers shared the statement where they ‘categorically denied’ Yashica’s claims.
Following this, Zoya Akhtar and her team decided to clarify and responded with a note stating that the character of Radhika in the series is a fictional character and has nothing to do with Yashica's life.
"The central conflict of the episode is whether Pallavi (Radhika's character ) should fight to have the wedding rituals that are a signifier of her identity, or not. None of the above is drawn from Yashica Dutt's life or her book - 'Coming Out As Dalit'. We categorically deny any claim that Ms. Dutt's life or work was appropriated by us. 'Coming out' is a 1950's academic LGBTQIA term that was first used by Mr. Sumit Baudh in the Indian caste identity context in 2007. He used this in an article he wrote for Tarshi. A decade later it was used by Ms. Dutt in her book. This term has since become common parlance for reclaiming caste identity" - an excerpt from Zoya's four-page note.
A few days prior to Yashica's claim, Neeraj had already expressed gratitude for the love that was being showered to the episode and had also mentioned Yashica and thanked her, via his social media.
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