'Rasbhari': Prasoon Joshi 'saddened' by scene in series, questions 'freedom of expression'

Digital content is blooming in recent years, and the lockdown has aided more such ventures, with films also directly hitting the web. However, many of these shows are also getting stuck in controversies over its portrayal. After Paatal Lok and XXX: Uncensored Season 2, the latest series to spark a row was Rasbhari.

Central Board of Film Certification's chief Prasoon Joshi took to Twitter and expressed his displeasure on one of the scenes of the Amzaon Prime series. The lyricist-writer wrote that he was very ‘saddened’ after seeing ‘insensitive’ objectification of a minor girl as she is shown dancing in front of men in the series. Condemning the scene, Joshi urged artists and viewers to think that it was not a question of entertainment, but the outlook towards children. “Is this freedom of expression or blatant misuse? He asked.

Here’s the post

दुःख हुआ।वेब सिरीज़ #rasbhari में असंवेदनशीलता से एक छोटी बच्ची को पुरुषों के सामने उत्तेजक नाच करते हुए एक वस्तु की तरह दिखाना निंदनीय है।आज रचनाकारों और दर्शक सोचें बात मनोरंजन की नहीं,यहाँ बच्चियों प्रति दृष्टिकोण का प्रश्न है,यह अभिव्यक्ति की स्वतंत्रता है या शोषण की मनमानी।

— Prasoon Joshi (@prasoonjoshi_)

Rasbhari features Swara Bhasker in the lead role and the story is about a fascination of a young boy towards his teacher. The series has been streaming on Amazon Prime since Thursday.

Earlier, Anushka Sharma had received flak for ‘hurting’ sentiments of various religious communities with Paatal Lok, a show that she has co-produced. Ekta Kapoor too had to apologise and remove a scene in XXX: Uncensored 2 over ‘insulting’ soldiers. Both the shows saw multiples cases and complaints filed against the makers, though Anushka is yet to comment on the controversy over her show.