Row Over Kissing Scene in A Suitable Boy; BJP Leaders Seek Action

A Suitable Boy is streaming on Netflix.

A kissing scene in A Suitable Boy has created a huge uproar.

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There has been a huge uproar over a kissing scene in the Netflix series A Suitable Boy. Some BJP leaders have alleged that the show is "hurting religious sentiments". On Sunday, 22 November, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra took to Twitter to direct police officials to examine the content of Mira Nair's web series.

Mishra took to Twitter to write, "A film titled ‘A Suitable Boy’ has been released on an OTT platform. It depicts extremely objectionable scenes that hurt the feelings of a particular religion. I have directed police officials to look into it.”

The Home Minister's announcement comes a day after a BJP youth leader Gourav Tiwari submitted a written complaint to Rewa SP Rakesh Kumar Singh, demanding that an FIR be registered against the show. Tiwari objected to a scene that shows two characters (played by Tanya Maniktala and Kabir Durrani ), one Hindu and Muslim, kissing in a temple. Tiwari also asked people to uninstall Netflix, following which #BoycottNetflix began to trend on Twitter.

"Netflix is promoting love jihad", Tiwari said in a tweet.

BJP spokesperson Gaurav Goel, without naming A Suitable Boy, said if any OTT platform was “deliberately insulting” Hindu Gods and Goddess, one should file a complaint with the police or local court under Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code. “The law will take care of such offenders,” he tweeted.

Supporting Netflix, some people on Twitter called these statements 'regressive'.