Anurag Kashyap and Swara Bhasker laud Rahul Gandhi’s stance on the Sacred Games row

Anurag Kashyap has praised Rahul Gandhi’s stance over Sacred Games row.

Sacred Games co-director Anurag Kashyap and actor Swara Bhasker have praised Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s stand on the uproar over the Netflix Original series. Amid a row over alleged use of derogatory language in the web series while referring to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi said the BJP and the RSS believe that freedom of expression must be policed, while he regards it as a fundamental democratic right.

“My father lived and died in the service of India. The views of a character on a fictional web series can never change that,” he wrote on Twitter yesterday. Kashyap quoted Rahul Gandhi’s tweet and wrote, “That’s a yay…”
Bhasker rooted for the political leader, saying it is “gracious” how Rahul Gandhi is able to keep personal and national interests aside.

“It is impressive that a mainstream politician like @RahulGandhi is taking this clear and progressive stand on freedom of expression and censorship. Also it’s gracious and mature that he is able to set aside the personal for the larger goal of democratic rights. #CreditWhereDue,” she tweeted.

Rahul Gandhi’s remarks come days after a plea was filed in the Delhi High Court seeking removal of certain scenes from Sacred Games, claiming that some of its content was derogatory to Rajiv Gandhi. The high court has said it will hear the plea filed by advocate Nikhil Bhalla on Monday.

BJP/RSS believe the freedom of expression must be policed & controlled. I believe this freedom is a fundamental democratic right.

My father lived and died in the service of India. The views of a character on a fictional web series can never change that.#SacredGames

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 14, 2018

It is impressive that a mainstream politician like @RahulGandhi is taking this clear & progressive stand on freedom of expression & censorship. Also it’s gracious & mature that he is able to set aside the personal for the larger goal of democratic rights. #CreditWhereDue 👏🏾👏🏾 https://t.co/cfEU0S2KaS

— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) July 14, 2018

That’s a yay … https://t.co/umv05MLJXc

— Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) July 14, 2018

Also, a police complaint has been filed by a Congress activist in Kolkata against the producers of the web series and actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui over the issue.

Siddiqui, streaming giant Netflix and Sacred Games producers are “jointly responsible” for abusing Rajiv Gandhi on the show, Congress activist Rajeev Sinha has alleged in his complaint, filed in the Girish Park Police Station in north Kolkata.

The first season of the show, comprising eight episodes, was released on July 6 and is available in 190 countries in four languages.

Giving it 3 stars, indianexpress.com in its review of the show wrote, “For those who have read the original source material — the novel Sacred Games — they might find the series a bit jarring with regards to certain plot developments. But they only make the show edgier and more layered. Perhaps this is why even after the first four episodes, you are still undecided whom to root for. Which should register as a win in such games.”

(With PTI inputs)