Dalit author slams 'Made in Heaven' for using her life story without permission or credits

Yashica Dutt called out showrunners while acknowledging its cinematic triumph
Entertainment Desk | August 15, 2023

The fifth episode of Made in Heaven’s second season, directed by Neeraj Ghaywan has been a topic of discussion ever since the series was released on August 10. The episode confronts casteism through the lens of Radhika Apte as Pallavi Menke, a Dalit author, who embraces her identity and stands up for her community. 

On August 14, journalist and author Yashica Dutt, took to her Instagram to share how the episode “gave [her] chills” and claimed that Made in Heaven showed “a version of [her] life on screen without permission or credit'.” Dutt is the author of the book Coming Out as Dalit which portrays a snapshot of what it means to be Dalit in Indian society. 

Dutt shared a clip of the episode from the series along with her complete statement. Although she was praising the episode as “no less than a cinematic triumph”, she also questioned the makers for not “duly acknowledging” her contribution to the central idea of the episode.

Dutt shared her reaction to the episode in her statement: "The scene where the Dalit author, who is from Columbia, has written a book about 'coming out' and talks about her grandmother 'manually cleaning toilets', asserts her selfhood with her life partner-to-be, gave me chills. It was surreal to see a version of my life on screen that was not, but yet was still me. But soon the heartbreak set in. They were my words, but my name was nowhere... The ideas I cultivated, that are my life's work, that I continue to receive immense hate for just speaking, were taken without permission or credit."

She maintained that the Made in Heaven episode was “stunning in its portrayal of a Dalit woman and her Buddhist inter-caste wedding”. She further added that since filmmakers are now “showing more Dalits on screen' they should ‘duly acknowledge those who contributed to creating those ideas.”

Concluding her statement, Dutt added: "I request Neeraj Ghaywan, and the show creators Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti to formally acknowledge my life's work and ideas that contributed to this episode, which is among the most-talked in the entire series, beyond a post on social media and within the show's credits. So that the millions of viewers know its central ideas were not created out of ether, but out of the blood, sweat and a lifetime of tears of a Dalit woman that the world had decided to cast aside."

Along with her complete statement, she penned a note in the caption of her instagram post, which read: "It’s been an overwhelming few days. Seeing my likeness on screen without warning or permission was a roller-coaster starting from thrill and excitement to sadness and loss. I continue to support @neeraj.ghaywan’s excellent work, whether now with Made in Heaven or Geeli Pucchi before. But this needs to be addressed."

Made in Heaven was created by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti and is an anthology series headlined by Karan Mehra and Sobhita Dhulipala, who play the role of wedding planners. The series explores the underlying social issues that come to the fore during lavish weddings. Apart from Neeraj Ghaywan, Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti, the episodes are directed by Alankrita Shrivastava and Nitya Mehra.

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