From Kurup to De-coupled: Movies and shows that sparked controversies in the recent past

Controversies have been a companion of the entertainment world since its origin. As cinematic art is something that always stands close to the society, many times, it has been treated as a medium to preach as well.

Social responsibility of cinema can never be undermined, as everything portrayed on the screen would have a direct impact on the audience. It is for the same reason a movie or show is studied between the lines, every time when a socially relevant subject is active in it. Though no one demands it to be always preachy, it surely is demanded to be toxic-free. 

While tracing the movies and shows of the recent past, certainly there are titles that have made many headlines due to different controversies they’ve caught up with. They range from misogyny to homophobia, as the series have been criticised for lacking progressiveness and being progressive as well. This includes movies like Benedetta, Kurup and shows including Indian Match-Making and Decoupled.

Here is a list of the latest controversial titles on OTT that you would want to re-think on:

Kurup

The Malayalam language Dulquer Salman starrer has been a matter of debate since its announcement. Afterall, making a biographical movie about Kerala’s most wanted criminal who is still on the run, is not an easy tab to digest. Helmed by Srinath Rajendran, the movie revolves around a real-life murder by Sukumara Kurup, who killed Chacko and exchanged identities for an insurance claim. The movie portrays Kurup as the central character of the story, which hurt many sentiments including the victim’s family. The promotional activities of the team has also led to many questions among the audiences who were sceptical if the murderer will be glorified in the movie, which happened to be true after the release. However, the team convinced the audience that the victim’s family have given a statement that they do not have any issues after watching the movie.

Jai Bhim

The Suriya-starrer legal drama is one of the best movies of 2021 in Tamil. Yet it landed in sparks of debates due to communal representation in one of its scenes. The movie is a brave attempt against discrimination and opression existing on the basis of caste. Drawing characters and incidents from real-life, it had all its brilliant elements to turn to a blockbuster. But it became a bit off when audiences spotted a community symbol on the screen, which offended many. Following the violent situation, even the actor had to have police protection at his residence for a day.

365 Days

The Netflix film is a story of a woman who was kidnapped and sexually assaulted by a Mafia family member. He gives the girl a year’s time to fall in love. Some called it soft porn, while many accused the film of glorifying and sexualising Stockholm syndrome. A petition was filed against the film for it to be removed from the streaming giant, stating it was glamorising rape. 

Benedetta

Dutch director Paul Verhoeven’s Benedetta spurred controversies as it has a very sensitive plot of a same sex relationship between two nuns. The movie set in 17th Century Italy speaks about Benedetta Carlini, a nun in an Italian convent, who was imprisoned and prosecuted for having an affair with one of the sisters in the monarchy. Undoubtedly the movie created sparks in Catholic demonstrations, and the lesbian sex disturbed the sentiments of many.

Indian Match-Making

The Netflix show follows Sima Taparia, who claims to be the top matchmaker in Mumbai, as she continues to help people arrange marriages. The series was widely criticised for its concept, and tagged to be sexist, racist and casteist. People accused that the show failed to question the regressive beliefs existing in the society, and that it rather strengthened them.

Decoupled

The recent Netflix show starring Madhavan and Surveen Chawla has been all over the news, but for the wrong reasons. Revolving around the divorce of a couple, the show claims to explore the dynamics of a relationship, which unfortunately turns out to be misogynistic, toxic and a train-wreck of satire. The show ended up going back to the same lines like women with big butts, unshaved armpits and most sexist jokes. This spurred huge controversies and numerous voices were echoed against the show on the internet as well as the media.