Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and Disney are turning a blind eye to racist Indian content on their platforms
Following the anti-racism protests in June 2020, several popular streaming platforms removed a number of TV shows, episodes and films from their platforms for their inappropriate or negative racial stereotypes. Netflix pulled The League of Gentlemen (1999-2002), Little Britain (2003-2007), The Mighty Boosh (1998-2013) and some episodes of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005 – 2019) from its platform because of their use of blackface and depiction of race. Amazon Prime Video refused to stream What Killed Michael Brown? (2020) and deleted Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words (2020) without an explanation. Disney Plus added a new content warning to films like Fantasia (1940), Dumbo (1941), Peter Pan (1953), Lady and the Tramp (1955), Swiss Family Robinson (1960), The Aristocats (1970) and The Jungle Book (1967) for their racist depictions.
Whilst the debate continues on whether the streaming platforms are doing the right thing by retrospectively cancelling problematic content, the same streaming companies appear to have taken a contradictory stance when it comes to streaming content from India as they continue to profit by distributing several openly racist, homophobic, sexist Indian films on their platforms.
Below are some problematic Indian films currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and Disney + Hotstar:
Sivaji (2007) on Amazon Prime Video
Tamil-language film Sivaji, starring Rajinikanth and directed by S. Shankar (Enthiran, 2.0), follows a successful Indian software engineer named Sivaji (Rajinikanth) who returns to India from the United States to marry an Indian girl, settle down and invest in the country. However, he faces several obstacles from a powerful and politically-connected man and corrupt politicians who try to thwart Sivaji’s plans to transform the Indian state of Tamil Nadu into a welfare state. The rest of the story is about how Sivaji overcomes these obstacles and succeeds in his mission.
Apart from its interesting plot and underlying social message, the film also glorifies stalking and sexual harassment and contains a prolonged scene promoting fair skin over darker skin in the pretext of comedy.
In one of the disturbing scenes in Sivaji, the lead actress (Shriya Saran) is incessantly stalked and harrassed by the lead actor and she tells him she cannot marry him because he is darker than her. The lead actor then vows to “change his skin colour” and undertakes a variety of skin-lightening treatments over the next few days including consuming “fair-skin-promoting foods”, applying excessive doses of “fairness creams” (that are still popular in the Indian market) and immersing himself into a bathtub filled with diluted clay powder. In a week’s time, the lead actor “becomes light-skinned” and visits the lead actress holding an umbrella with one hand (to prevent his skin from getting tanned) and a rose in the other hand. This scene is followed by a highly-racist video song where a light-skinned and a dark-skinned man (both played by Rajinikanth) try to woo the lead actress who eventually chooses the light-skinned man by the end of the song.
Notwithstanding the problematic content, Amazon Prime Video bought the streaming rights to this 2007 film at the end of 2020 and made it available in India in December 2020 and other territories across the world in early 2021.
Dostana (2008) on Netflix
Set in Miami, Dostana is a Hindi-language comedy that follows two philandering Indian men (Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham) who pretend to be gay in order to share an apartment with an Indian woman (Priyanka Chopra Jonas). The men eventually fall in love with her.
Produced by Karan Johar (My Name Is Khan) and directed by Tarun Mansukhani, Dostana is widely considered to be the first representation of the LGBTQ community in a mainstream Bollywood film, however the film is laced with stereotypes about gay people. The film’s leading actors, in order to make others believe they are gay, wear floral shirts and make body gestures ridiculing gay people throughout the film. The film features a homophobic video song titled “Maa Da Laadla” that is designed to be “funny”, depicting an elderly Indian woman (Kirron Kher) concerned about her son’s homosexuality and trying to “cure” him.
Despite the controversies surrounding the film, Netflix added Dostana to its platform in April 2020.
Dookudu (2011) on Amazon Prime Video
Dookudu, directed by Srinu Vaitla, is a Telugu-language action-thriller starring Mahesh Babu and Samantha Akkineni (The Family Man 2). The film follows an undercover cop (Mahesh Babu) who is assigned to catch a dangerous mafia don with whom he has a personal score to settle.
In one of the scenes in the film, the lead actor stalks the lead actress and when confronted by her, he denies stalking her and proceeds to gaslight her by mocking at her “complexion” and height, asserting she is “darker” and shorter than him and therefore wrong to assume that a light-skinned and taller man would chase after a woman like her.
Amazon Prime Video started streaming the film since early 2021 and has also provided English subtitles for the racist, misogynistic scene to its non-Telugu-speaking viewers.
Udta Punjab (2016) on Netflix
Hindi-language drama-thriller Udta Punjab revolves around the drug crisis in the Indian state of Punjab. Directed by Abhishek Chaubey, the film features an ensemble cast including Shahid Kapoor (Haider), Kareena Kapoor (Heroine), Alia Bhatt (Raazi) and Diljit Dosanjh (Sardaar Ji).
British-Indian actress Alia Bhatt, who plays one of the main characters in the film, wears a brownface to portray a young migrant woman from Bihar working in Punjab. Despite facing criticism for donning a darker skin tone, the actress was honoured with the Best Actress Filmfare award in January 2017 for her performance in the film.
Netflix have removed several Hollywood and British shows from their platform for their use of blackface, however it appears that the platform doesn’t have a problem with light-skinned Indian actors donning brownface to portray people from underprivileged backgrounds.
Udta Punjab has been streaming on Netflix since January 2017.
Super 30 (2019) on Disney + Hotstar
Directed by Vikas Bahl (Queen) and starring Hrithik Roshan (Krrish) and Mrunal Thakur (Toofaan), Super 30 follows a mathematician from the Indian state of Bihar who overcomes several challenges to run the successful “Super 30” educational course for the Indian Institute of Technology-aspirants in his hometown.
Hrithik Roshan was praised for his performance in the film, however he was also criticised for darkening his skin colour in order to play the role of a Bihari man from an underprivileged background.
While Disney Plus have updated the content warning for Hollywood films that portrayed negative depiction of people or cultures, their Indian wing “Disney + Hotstar” has not followed suit and continues to distribute films with brownface without a content warning.
Bala (2019) on Disney + Hotstar
Bala is a Hindi-language comedy-drama about a young man (Ayushmann Khurrana) suffering from male pattern baldness and his ensuing loss of confidence and having to deal with societal pressure that men with hair loss issues experience in India.
The lead actress in the film, Bhumi Pednekar (Shubh Mangal Saavdhan), drew criticism for wearing a brownface to portray a dark-skinned woman in the film.
The Family Man Season 2 on Amazon Prime Video
The Family Man is an espionage drama-thriller that follows an Indian man (Manoj Bajpayee) who lives with his wife and two children in a flat in Mumbai, but he also secretly works for the National Intelligence Agency and protects his nation from terrorism.
After a successful first season, Amazon Prime Video commissioned a second season which released in June 2021 to positive reviews. However, The Family Man 2 attracted criticism for the brownface makeup on Samantha Akkineni, one of the main characters in the second season.
Raj and DK, the makers of the show, unapologetically defended their decision to apply brownface on Samantha Akkineni and claimed that the character she played (that of a Sri Lankan Tamil soldier) demanded painting her with several shades darker than her original skin tone.