Made in Heaven makers deny Dalit wedding episode appropriated author's work

Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar, the creators of Amazon Prime Video India's popular series Made in Heaven, have responded to claims made by journalist and author Yashica Dutt. The claims revolve around the inspiration and credit for a specific episode in the show's second season. The episode in question, titled The heart skipped a beat, focuses on a Dalit character named Pallavi Menke and explores themes of inter-caste weddings and caste identity in Indian society. Yashica Dutt's book, Coming Out as Dalit: A Memoir, was cited as a partial inspiration for the episode's storyline, as per director Neeraj Ghaywan in an Instagram post.

What had Yashica Dutt said about the Made in Heaven Season 2 episode?

Writing on social media, Yashica Dutt had expressed her appreciation for the show's portrayal of unapologetic Dalit characters while also highlighting her disappointment over the lack of acknowledgment for her contributions to the episode's creation. She voiced her desire for formal recognition within the show's credits and called for acknowledgment of the labour that went into shaping the narrative.

She wrote, “The scene where the Dalit author who is from Columbia, has written a book about ‘Coming Out’, and talks about how her grandmother ‘manually cleaned toilets’ (while wearing all blue as an homage to Ambedkar), 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 wasn’t but yet was still me. But soon the heartbreak set in. They were my words but my name was nowhere. What could have been a celebration of our collective ideas was now tinged with sadness. The ideas I cultivated, that are my life’s work, that I continue to receive immense hate still for just speaking, were taken without permission or credit.”

She said that Dailts, particularly Dalit women, have “a long history of being taken from, erased, ignored, obliterated from our own stories.”

How did Made in Heaven creators respond?

In response, Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar have issued a detailed statement on social media to address the claims. They said that contrary to what Yashica believes, the episode is not "drawn from Yashica Dutt’s life or her book — Coming Out As Dalit. We categorically deny any claim that Ms. Dutt’s life or work was appropriated by us."

They further clarified that the character Pallavi Menke is a completely fictional creation. The creators explained that the character's journey, including her academic accomplishments and conflict with prospective in-laws, was developed through research and creative exploration. They also clarified the usage of the term "Coming Out" within the episode. While acknowledging the significance of the term in Dutt's work, they explained that its usage in the episode was in a different context. Additionally, they mentioned that the character's fictional book, Denied, was a tribute to various works on Dalit identity, including Dutt's book.

"We have immense respect for them and their experiences and their work that has admirably shed light on caste based discrimination. Through his previous work and this episode, Neeraj Ghaywan has added to the discourse. We made this show with sincerity, passion and a beating heart and are overwhelmed with the love we have received. We will continue to platform stories and voices that are truly bigger than us," the statement continued. You can read the full statement above.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE