Netflix, an American online entertainment media streaming company, released a trailer of its upcoming show Leila which is set to premiere on the 14th of June. The show appears to depict a dystopian future where Hindu nationalists have managed to capture the machinery of the state.
https://twitter.com/NetflixIndia/status/1129228232853676032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
In the trailer that was released, a Hindu woman married to a Muslim has a daughter by the name of Leela. The daughter is taken away by Hindu nationalists because she is not ‘pure’ enough as she has a Muslim father. Then, the protagonist appears to have been sent to a state-sponsored re-education centre where people appear to be brainwashed.
The entire trailer is filled with Hindu imagery cast in a negative light. ‘Jai Aryavart’ is the slogan of this dystopian Hindu State where people are discriminated on the basis of religion is a state policy. The villains of the story, too, are shown wearing Hindu symbols.
The show clearly is blatant anti-Hindu propaganda with political motivations considering the current state of the country. ‘Liberals’ are suffering from ‘Modi Derangement Syndrome’ and the show appears to be a testament of the fact.
Quite predictably, people on social media were not pleased with Netflix and expressed their anger and discontent through their tweets.
https://twitter.com/ThePlacardGuy/status/1129286608417697793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/indianchan/status/1129284118221484033?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/AdiShankaraa/status/1129617969137373184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/tbmini/status/1129278096387891200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Others suggested that Netflix had basically made an Indian version of the Handmaid’s Tale, a show based on a novel that predicted a dystopian future in the West where women were subjugated by Western men.
https://twitter.com/Ananth_Krishna_/status/1129304352278032385?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/DivyanshB08/status/1129289158671781888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/kuchhimau/status/1129279724537110528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/NotThatRi/status/1129244443033395200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
In Handmaid’s tale, “June, a fertile woman, lives as a concubine to a Gileadan officer and his wife. While she is forced to agree to their strict rules and conditions, she hopes to be free and reunite with her daughter.”
People have also expressed their disgust at Netflix for sullying the sacred name of Aryavart.
https://twitter.com/Dauhshanti/status/1129289694158573568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
There’s also the distinct possibility that the show will have the polar opposite effect than what the creators intended. While demonization of ‘Jai Aryavart’ appears to have been an objective, the ancient name appears likely to enter the consciousness of the masses again and could become a rallying cry for Hindu nationalists.
Netflix has consistently displayed a tendency to cater to anti-Hindu narratives. After Ghoul and Sacred Games, this is the third show that demonizes Hindus. Leila has been directed by Deepa Mehta, Shanker Raman and Pawan Kumar. Based on the 2017 eponymous novel by Prayaag Akbar, it was written for the show by Urmi Juvekar and will star Huma Qureshi, Siddharth, Rahul Khanna, Sanjay Suri and Arif Zakaria.