'Made in Heaven Season 2': Makers deny claims of 'appropriating' Dalit author Yashica Dutt's work in the series

Ever since Amazon Prime premiered Made in Heaven Season 2 on 10 August, the seven-episode series has grabbed headlines for varied reasons. In addition to lavish weddings, extravagant event planning, and inclusion of marginalised characters in the lead roles, episode 5 of the flamboyant series has been reported for appropriating an author’s work. Denying the same, Zoya Akhtar has now cleared it in an Instagram post on her official account.

The 5th episode of the show titled ‘The Heart Skips a Beat’ casts actress Radhika Apte in the lead role. It presents viewers with the life of Pallavi Menke, a Maharashtrian Ambedkarite who studied law at Columbia University and reclaims her original surname as time passes. Directed by Neeraj Ghaywan, the episode has been claimed to be ‘drawn from Yashica Dutt’s life or her book- ‘Coming Out As Dalit’. Since the release of the episode, Dutt has been demanding credit for using her work in the show.

Zoya Akhtar’s clarification In the four-page post, director Zoya Akhtar described the ‘misleading comments and reports’ as ‘deeply disturbing’. While describing the context behind episode 5 and the resulting controversy protruding from the same, Akhtar went on to ‘categorically deny any claim that Ms. Dutt’s life or work was appropriated’ by them. Check out the Instagram post:

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In addition, Akhtar also vividly pointed out how the term ‘Coming Out’ originates from the 1950’s academic-based LGBTQIA term, coined by Sunil Baudh in the context of Indian caste identity in 2007. Since then, it has come as a common practice to assert one’s caste identity openly. Uploaded a few hours ago, the post amassed several likes and comments. Check out some of the comments on the post below: Author Shivya Nath wrote, “You are awesome for bringing these stories to the forefront, while making them accessible to such a large audience. Nothing but HUGE respect for you Zoya.” “It’s clear she was an inspiration- the director even acknowledged her in his Instagram post,” said another user. A user remarked, “All of you are mega stars for the quality of your storytelling." There were a lot of red hearts dropped on the post as well. The central conflict surrounding Dalit identity-based episode 5 is ‘whether Pallavi should fight to have the wedding rituals that symbolise her identity or not’, according to Zoya Akhtar’s post. Earlier, Dutt accused the makers that the character was based on her life. Check out her post:

In response, director Neeraj Ghayman penned a note for drawing inspiration from Dutt’s book on Instagram. He mentioned Dutt and her book (Coming Out as a Dalit) which made the term ‘coming out’ part of popular culture’s lexicon. Check out the post:

The particular episode was highly praised by Prakash Ambedkar, a former Member of the Lok Sabha and BR Ambedkar’s grandson on Twitter for ‘the assertion, defiance and resistance of the Dalit woman character — Pallavi’. Made in Heaven Season 1 premiered in 2019 on Amazon Prime.