Anushka Sharma slapped with legal notice for 'racist and sexist' Nepali slur in 'Paatal Lok'

A Gorkha association in Arunachal Pradesh has filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) against actor Anuskha Sharma for an alleged "sexist slur" on the Gorkha community in one of the scenes of the web series ''Paatal Lok'' produced by her.

The complaint was filed recently by Bikash Bhattarai, the Namsai unit president of the All Arunachal Pradesh Gorkha Youth Association (AAPGYA).

A "sexist slur" used against a woman character in the second episode of the web series is a "direct insult to the Nepali-speaking people", the association stated in the complaint.

"The sexist slur has hurt the sentiments of the Gorkha community and the Nepali-speaking people across the country," the AAPGYA said.

It demanded that either the web series be stopped from being aired or the team of ''Paatal Lok'' apologise to the Gorkhali people.

"The series has hurt the Nepali community and there is already a strong protest against it on social media for presenting an insulting, demeaning and derogatory dialogue," the group stated in its complaint.

AAPGYA state unit president Shyam Ghatani said, "Not only should the Nepali community, but those in the film industry also condemn such direct insult made to millions of people who speak Nepali as their common language".

The association has urged the NHRC and the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs to come up with a "strong and concrete" decision on the matter.

The Bharatiya Gorkha Yuva Parisangh has also started an online petition demanding that Amazon should mute the slur, blur the subtitles and upload an edited video with an apology and a disclaimer.

Exploring the dark recesses of immorality, Paatal Lok aims at being neo-noir entertainment that is inspired by the traditional concepts of of Swargalok (heaven), Dharti Lok (earth), and Patal Lok (netherworld), and delves into the interplay within the four estates of democracy.

The over three-minute trailer gives a glimpse into a layered crime story, which revolves around Hathi Ram Chaudhary, a police officer in Delhi who is put on an extremely high-profile case.

He is on the lookout for four criminals -- serial killer Vishal "Hathoda" Tyagi (Abhishek Banerjee), Tope "Chaaku" Singh (Jagjeet Sandhu), Kabir M. (Aasif Khan), and Mary "Cheeni" Lyngdoh (Mairembam Ronaldo Singh) -- behind a failed assassination attempt of a well-known journalist Sanjeev Mehra (Neeraj Kabi). The thrilling chase leads him to the dark alleys of -- 'Paatal Lok'.

The nine-part Amazon Original Series, stars Jaideep Ahlawat, is directed by Avinash Arun and Prosit Roy. It is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.