NEW DELHI, Nov 22 (Reuters) - An Indian state on Sunday
asked police to investigate after a member of the country's
ruling party objected to scenes in the Netflix series A Suitable
Boy, in which a Hindu girl kisses a Muslim boy against the
backdrop of a Hindu temple.
The series is based on an English novel by one of India's
leading writers Vikram Seth and follows a young girl's quest for
a husband. It is directed by celebrated Indian filmmaker Mira
Nair.
"It has extremely objectionable scenes that have hurt the
feelings of a particular religion," Narottam Mishra, the
interior minister of the central state of Madhya Pradesh, said
on Twitter.
"I've directed police officers to get this controversial
content tested" to determine "what legal action can be taken
against the producer-director of the film for hurting religious
sentiments".
Gaurav Tiwari, a leader of the youth wing of India's ruling
Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which also
governs Madhya Pradesh, has filed a separate complaint against
Netflix and warned of street protests by Hindus if the series is
not taken off the platform.
A Netflix India spokesman declined comment on the police
complaint. Reuters could not contact Nair.
Social media commentators say the scope for creative freedom
is narrowing in India, especially when it involves any depiction
of Hindu-Muslim relations.
Many Indians took to Twitter demanding a boycott of Netflix,
which sees India as one of its most promising growth markets,
but where its shows have faced legal challenges.
Last month, a unit of India's Tata conglomerate withdrew a
jewellery advertisement featuring a Hindu-Muslim family
celebrating a baby shower, following threats to one of its
stores and wide criticism on social media.
Earlier this month, the Indian government announced rules to
regulate content on video streaming platforms including Netflix
, Amazon Prime Video and Walt Disney's
Hotstar.
(Reporting by Neha Arora; Editing by Krishna N. Das and Barbara
Lewis)