When season 2 of the Hindi series Made in Heaven dropped on Amazon Prime Video recently, many lauded the episode by well-known Dalit filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan. Yet, very soon the showmakers were mired in controversy about appropriation and failing to give credit where it was due. Starring Radhika Apte, the episode titled ‘The Heart Skipped a Beat’ drew the widespread praise of those in the anti-caste movement. The love story in the episode fiercely brings to light how caste underpins all human experiences, including romance and marriage. Radhika plays Pallavi Menke, a Dalit scholar and author who writes a book about ‘coming out’ about her caste identity.
While the story is a powerful one, many in the movement were quick to recognise the several strong similarities to the life and fights of journalist and author Yashica Dutt who wrote the book Coming Out as Dalit (2019), published by Aleph. To the author’s dismay, neither the director nor showmakers Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti had credited her for these striking similarities, nor does the show in any way mention that the episode is at least partly inspired by Yashica.
In an interview with TNM, Yashica Dutt said, “Gender plays a very important role in the way women are supposed to respond to their work being taken away and when they demand their due credit. I love Neeraj Ghaywan’s work and I will continue to support it. I have said this right from the get go, but at the same time how do we navigate this space when standing up for ourselves? When standing up for not having our work erased? Standing up for demanding credit where credit is due.”
She also added, “This is not something that gives me any pleasure when I love that work, when I think that it is so important for the community. Pallavi is a standout Dalit character, the likes of which has not existed before. It gives me no pleasure to come in and say ‘this is not good enough’ or create any kind of negative commentary about it. In fact, my effort has been to create a positive commentary around it. All I’m saying is that if this character has immense likeness where people can identify it for themselves without me telling them, then credit must be given where it’s due. Women are expected to shrink themselves. To support the men. To always cover up for the mistakes that have been made. What I’m doing right now is not covering up a mistake that was made, which is that I was not contacted.”
After Yashica released statements questioning the lack of credit to her work and life, director Neeraj Ghaywan wrote on his social media handles about the positive reception for ‘The Heart Skipped a Beat’. He also thanked, among others, Yashica. In the post on Instagram, Neeraj said, “Thanks to Yashica Dutt and her book (Coming Out as Dalit) which made the term ‘coming out’ become part of the popular cultural lexicon for owning one’s Dalit identity. This inspired Pallavi’s interview section in the episode.”
However, Yashica said that this isn’t enough. While emphasising her stance that the episode is path-breaking in its representation of Dalit women on screen, she also said that it is pertinent for her to speak up for herself. She told TNM, “I really appreciate Neeraj going on Instagram and acknowledging it to the show’s viewers. But let’s be very clear, this is a global show. Amazon Prime video is one of the world’s largest streaming platforms. I watched this show while living in the US. This show is going to be watched by millions of Indians across the world. I think it’s important to give acknowledgement beyond an Instagram post.”
Yashica added, “Some kind of formal acknowledgement is very important. Especially because the character has such a similar likeness to my work, which is not very old. I came out as Dalit in 2016, so all the interviews that I have given are very fresh in the public discourse. As my book is now coming out in the US, it is very important for me to make a connection and say that this is my contribution.”