‘Made in Heaven’ S2 credit row: Makers deny allegations made by Dalit writer Yashica Dutt

The makers of Made in Heaven’s new season have refuted allegations made by Dalit writer Yashica Dutt that one of the show’s episodes lifts aspects from her life. In a series of social media posts on August 14, Dutt alleged that she had not been credited as the inspiration for the character played by Radhika Apte.

The show’s writers – Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti and Alankrita Shrivastava – and the episode director Neeraj Ghaywan (who is Dalit himself) refuted the charges on Thursday. “We categorically deny any claim that Ms. Dutt’s life or work was appropriated by us,” they said in a statement.

In the episode, Apte plays Pallavi Menke, an Ambedkarite academic at Columbia University. Menke’s decision to have a Buddhist wedding ceremony exposes the caste prejudices of her prospective in-laws. Before the nuptials, Pallavi speaks at a public gathering about reclaiming her original surname instead of the caste-neutral one she has been using for years, her grandmother’s job as a toilet cleaner, and the importance of “coming out” – the phrase used to explain the public declaration of Dalit identity by community members.

Dutt alleged on that Menke’s experiences reflect her own. In 2019, Dutt published to wide acclaim her memoir Coming Out as Dalit, in which she wrote at length about “passing” as an...

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