Zoya Akhtar Has A BEFITTING Reply To A Netizen Who Claims That She Always Portrays 'Oppressed Muslims'

Zoya Akhtar’s Made In Heaven 2 finally got released earlier this month, amid much anticipation and wait. The series that highlighted a plethora of topics through woven-stories were received well by critics and viewers alike. However, it also got mired in controversies emanating from certain episodes and characters. One such segment featured Dia Mirza and Pravin Dabas in the episode ‘The Warrior Princess’ and it showed her character of Shehnaaz attempting to take dire steps, after her husband married for the second time. While the focus was on the practice of polygamy in some Muslim households, few viewers were outraged and deemed the portrayal as myopic. When one such netizen pointed out to the makers, Zoya Akhtar promptly responded by quoting examples of Muslim portrayals in all her previous projects.

When the film-maker was asserting her stance over the allegations levied by Dalit writer Yashica Dutt for misappropriating the excerpts from her book, a netizen asked when Zoya Akhtar would start putting ‘normal Muslim characters’ in her projects. The comment read, “Zoya can you normal Muslim character in your shows. One positive story that is not oppressed.” Replying to them, Zoya wrote, “Zaffar Khan and Tanveer in Luck By Chance. Imran and Laila in ZNMD. Farah Ali in Dil Dhadakne Do. Practically everyone in Gully Boy. Sarfaraz Khan and Leila Shirazi, Kabir, Faiza and Nawab have in Made In Heaven.”

For the on-demand series Made in Heaven 2 starring Sobhita Dhulipala and Arjun Mathur on Amazon Prime, problems don’t seem to be getting any better. Recently, the show has been the centre of a number of controversy. Author Yashica Dutt criticised the producers on Thursday for copying her work without giving proper acknowledgement. Tarun Tahiliani, renowned fashion designer, has now charged the group with misrepresenting his works. He posted a few things in the story portion of his Instagram account, claiming that Made in Heaven 2’s producers had stolen his concepts without giving him or his label any credit.

Tarun Tahiliani also stated that the team had betrayed his confidence by using a show’s fake designer to depict his clothing. For the sake of those who are unaware, Mrunal Thakur wore Tarun Tahiliani’s creations in the second episode of the series ‘Beauty And The Beast’. She is given these outfits by a made-up designer with the label Akshay Jaiswal.

Arjun Mehra, Sobhita Dhulipala, Jim Sarbh, Kalki Koechlin, Shashank Arora, Shivani Raghuvanshi, Mona Singh, Trinetra Haldar, Ishwar Singh, and Vijay Raaz make up the main cast of Made In Heaven 2. 2019 saw the debut of the first episode of the series on Amazon Prime India. The plot of the show centres on the emotional and professional problems of two wedding planners named Tara and Karan. On August 10, Made in Heaven 2 made its Amazon Prime Video debut.