'Made in Heaven Team's Response Comes From a Condescending Place': Yashica Dutt

Dalit author Yashica Dutt speaks about the statement by Made In Heaven 2 makers about her claims.

Author Yashica Dutt speaks about the Made In Heaven 2 controversy.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

One of the many conversations surrounding the second season of Amazon Prime Video's Made In Heaven has been the one about episode 5, starring Radhika Apte as an accomplished Dalit author, Pallavi Menke.

The episode is being lauded for its sensitive portrayal of a Dalit family and for showing a Buddhist wedding on screen, which is a rarity in Hindi cinema.

The episode also courted some controversy when author of Coming Out as Dalit, Yashica Dutt, called out the makers, namely Neeraj Ghaywan, Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti for misappropriating her life and work. Yashica alleged that certain incidents in Pallavi's life bear a stark resemblance to hers.

Following her claims, the Made In Heaven 2 team, namely Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, Neeraj Ghaywan and Alankrita Srivastava, took to social media on Thursday (17 August) to put out a statement saying, "We categorically deny any claim that Ms Dutt's life or work was appropriated by us."

Read the full statement here:

Now, The Quint spoke to Yashica about the makers' response to her claims, her thoughts on the episode and more.

The makers have responded saying that your work or life have not been appropriated in the show. How would you respond to that?

Yashica Dutt: I'm still processing it, but I would like to say that it's very disappointing. I feel that the tone of the response comes from a very condescending and calculated place. All throughout, I've shown nothing but solidarity and support for the episode. I've gone online and said, 'please don't ban this episode, please don't cancel it' and I've been telling people to watch it because it's such an important and significant portrayal of Dalit life on screen in a way we haven't seen before.

I'm the one who has been denied credit, but at the same time I've tried to be as generous and compassionate with my response as possible. On the other hand the makers, who have the backing of one of the world's largest streaming platforms and who represent some of the most powerful people in the film industry, have taken a completely different tone and I wish things could have been better.

Now that the makers are stating that Pallavi Menke's character hasn't been inspired by you, have you thought about what you would want to do next?

Yashica Dutt: I don't want to comment anything on this so quickly, because I need to take time to process this and then figure out the next steps. But the fact is, I asked for credit and that was categorically denied in a very harsh way. Even the viewers said that I should be credited. I released a statement on Monday, 14 August, but the discourse had started before that. So you can't dismiss everyone's opinion and say that the character doesn't bear any resemblance to me. I am not denying that there can be multiple inspirations, but I am just asking that at some level do recognise who this character is based on.

That your request has been denied, how does that make you feel?

Yashica Dutt: There is this whole discomfort in our culture with people and Dalit women demanding to be recognised and credited. We expect people who are marginalized, especially women, to just be grateful for being represented. I can’t clearly say what they were thinking, but the sense I got was that I should just have been thankful for being represented. Not just me, everyone is saying that Pallavi's character has been inspired by me, so please acknowledge that.

And the response I have been seeing to my statements has largely been supportive and overwhelming. Of course, I have received a fair share of hate, but it's nothing compared to the support I got. I have defined my own identity and I want my credit for that and being denied only reinforces the discomfort.

When you watched the episode, what are the similarities you saw between Pallavi and yourself?

Yashica Dutt: Before I watched the episode, a friend had hinted that this character might be based on me, but I wasn't sure because I knew that this show is about weddings and I am not even married. Then I came across tweets that were claiming the same thing and I immediately watched the episode.

First, the setting was very similar. During an interview, Pallavi speaks about being a Dalit author at Columbia and the interviewer mentions that she has written a book about "coming out" with her identity. I don't know of any other Dalit author who's at Columbia and who has written a book about coming out. Secondly, Pallavi answers a question on reservation. Many of us who are Dalits and are visible have been forced to answer that question, but the way she answered it has been very similar to how I tackle the question. I've given an example of my grandmother, who used to be a manual scavenger, and Pallavi does the same.

We all know that within the Indian caste system, it's the Bhangis who clean toilets. Pallavi Menke’s character is Bhangi, and that was the most striking similarity. Now, the arc of the character isn't similar to mine. She gets married in a Buddhist ceremony and is rich enough to hire wedding planners, and I come from a working class background. Despite these differences, the similarities were too obvious.

Speaking about "coming out", when I was working on my book in 2018, I spoke to a lot of people who had hidden their identities and after I came out in 2016, they also came out. So I would never say that's unique to me, but certain experiences of Pallavi definitely are.

Their statement also mentions that the narrative of cleaning toilets was included because it is common knowledge and it came up in their research. What would you say to that?

Yashica Dutt: I think saying that requires a very basic understanding of the caste system. I think anybody who knows about the caste system knows that people who clean toilets are the Valmiki caste, the Bhangi caste and they are the only ones who clean toilets. We live in India and we know which castes do what for a living - Chamaars deal with dead animals, for example. Bhangis are forced into manual scavenging without any protective gear. It's something my family has done and some of my relatives still clean toilets.

Neeraj Ghaywan did take to Instagram three days after the release of the show to acknowledge your work and contribution. Did that feel enough?

Yashica Dutt: Neeraj acknowledged me on Instagram and that was incredible. I was very happy, but at the same time, Instagram is very limited in its reach. The show will be viewed by millions across the world, and they will never know the contribution of the real person behind the character. So, is the credit enough? Probably no.