Ekta Kapoor compares Naagin to Game of Thrones: It's cool to watch dragons, but not shape-shifting snakes?

Ekta Kapoor has compared popular television show Naagin with the recently-concluded HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones. The television mogul stated that there are several common factors between international shows and Naagin, such as use of mythological creatures — dragons in Game of Thrones and icchadhari naagin (shape-shifting cobras) in Naagin — as well as resurrection.

Commenting on how watching Naagin is looked down upon, Ekta dubbed it as “anti-populist”.

“What are the big shows that are working internationally, currently? People are watching dragons. It is uber cool for them to watch dragons, but when India watches naagins, it is not cool. Isn’t this anti-populist? Why do we look down on the masses and their choices?,” Ekta was quoted as saying to Times of India.

She added that like many Indian shows, Game of Thrones too used the trope of bringing back from the dead, with Jon Snow’s character. She explained that events such as kidnap, murder or resurrection in a show leads to a surge in ratings.

“Didn’t Jon Snow return from the dead? If you are not the audience, you will criticise, but then, that’s ringside play…It is an escapism for the Indian audience,” she said.

Recently, Colors compared Naagin to another pop-culture behemoth, Avengers: Endgame, which led to a bevy of memes on Twitter. Responding to the trolling, Anita Hassnandani told Indo-Asian News Service, “It is big for TV to have a finale like this, and I am glad that I was a part of such a huge franchise."

Check out the Naagin-meets-Avengers poster here