Netflix says THIS about legal notice on Madhuri Dixit comment in Big Bang Theory

Netflix was served legal notice by BJP leader Mithun Vijay over a comment made in the popular sitcom Big Bang Theory starring Jim Parsons and Kunal Nayyar among others. The comment that garnered criticism even from veteran actress Jaya Bachchan was in Big Bang Theory Season 2 Episode 1. 

In the episode two characters from the series- Raj Koothrapalli, played by Kunal Nayyar, and Jim Parsons who plays Sheldon Cooper compare Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit.

In the scene in question, Sheldon Cooper calls Aishwarya Rai a poor man's Madhuri Dixit. In response to his comment, Raj Koothrapalli replies, "Aishwarya Rai is a goddess, by comparison, Madhuri Dixit is a leprous prostitute".

Kumar had sent a legal notice to Netflix's Mumbai office and asked to remove the episode in question or face legal action for promoting discrimination against women.

From here, the OTT platform directed Kumar to Warner Bros, the producer for the popular sitcom. Netflix also informed Warner bros about the development, who is expected to take the further decision 

“As a sensible streaming service provider that understands cultural sensitivities, Netflix has informed the original producers of the show regarding the gravity of the issue raised by me. I hope Warner Bros will take appropriate content moderation measures and ensure that their content is free from such abusive language towards people and cultures.”, Hindustan Times quoted Kumar. 

“As an individual, I believe that all such programs that use derogatory language in the name of humour must be taken down. We even have recent observations from an honourable high court on the need to regulate content with vulgar language on social media and OTT. While the Big Bang Theory episode may be one such issue, there are plenty of other shows where the content needs to be regulated. But I hope this incident has highlighted the need for content moderation on streaming platforms when foul language crosses a particular line. In our society, even today, swear words are not spoken in the presence of family, women, children, etc., then why is OTT an exception?” he added. 

Actor and MP from Samajwadi party Jaya Bachchan also shared her opinion on this scene in an interview with Times of India. The veteran actress asked if Kunal Nayyar is “insane". And said that he has a “badi gandi zubaan hai (he is foul-mouthed). She also went on to say that the actor needs “to be sent to mental asylum," and his family should be asked what they think of his comment.

"Big Bang Theory", a CBS sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, premiered in 2007, and concluded in 2019 after a 12 season run.

The show revolved around Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki) and Sheldon Cooper (Parsons), both physicists at Caltech, who share an apartment; Penny (Kaley Cuoco), a waitress living across the hall; and Leonard and Sheldon's friends and coworkers, aerospace engineer Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) and astrophysicist Raj Koothrappali (Nayyar).

All the 12 seasons of the show are available on Netflix.