Actor Bobby Deol might be gearing up for the second season of his hit web-series Aashram but the criticism over the first season hasn’t ended yet. The actor plays the role of a fraudulent self-styled godman in the Prakash Jha-directed show and for a section of people, it’s ‘sinister’ and a threat to the Hindu religion. After fringed outfit Karni Sena sent a legal notice to the director and streaming platform MX Player demanding a ban on season 2 of the show, both Deol and Jha spoke out in their respective interviews about the controversy.
Bobby’s performance as Kashipur Waale Baba Nirala has been appreciated widely and he stands by the content and the kind of ‘reality’ it depicts. In his latest interview with Mid-Day, Bobby said that he’s always conscious of not doing anything that brings shame to his country. He was quoted as saying, “As an actor, it is my job to play different kinds of characters. I will never do anything that will bring shame to our country. But Aashram reflects what is happening in our society.”
Jha, too, defended the show and said that he’s no one to change the audience’s mandate when the show has become a wide hit across the country. In an interview recently, he said, “Who am I to make a judgment on their demand? We had 400 million-plus views for the first season. I think viewers are the best placed to decide on ‘negative goodwill’. Shall we leave it to them?”
In its notice to the makers of Aashram, Karni Sena complained that the show encourages Hinduphobia and spreads negativity about the religion for future generations to see. “The said web series have(sic.) deeply hurt the sentiments of the people at large and it is also going to spread negative goodwill(sic.) about Hindu religion on(sic.) future generations to come,” read the notice.
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