In a recent interview while promoting her upcoming film Gadar 2, actor Ameesha Patel blatantly made homophobic comments, adding to the ongoing conversation about whether OTT platforms' content is too explicit for Indian sensibilities.
Ameesha stated that audiences crave "clean" entertainment, which she believes is absent from OTT platforms. She went on to criticize the presence of homosexuality in streaming content, likening it to material that necessitates child locks on televisions to shield children's eyes.
People are waiting for good, clean cinema. The era where you could make cinema that a grandchild could sit and watch with a grandparent is completely missing. OTT for sure doesn’t give you that. Because OTT is full of, homosexuality, gay-lesbianism… Scenes that you have to cover your kids’ eyes or actually put a child lock on your television so they can’t access those platforms. It’s not something you really want your kids to watch.Ameesha Patel
It is deeply disappointing when public figures express homophobic views in a country that is still debating the legalization of queer marriage. Bollywood, in particular, has a long way to go in terms of standing up for the LGBTQ+ community.
It seems that celebrities only show support for the community when it benefits their own movies, treating queer folk as a mere commodity.
Ameesha‘s inappropriate comments made waves on social media, inviting scores of netizens to call her out. While most expressed disappointment at another public figure turning out to be a queerphobe, others found it ironic that Patel herself has a roster of sexually explicit scenes she’s featured in, some even in made-for-kids films like Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic.
TV actor and internet sensation, Uorfi Javed also joined social media users in calling out Ameesha’s insensitivity. Sharing a clip of the actor’s interview, Javed took to her Instagram story.
Schooling Patel, she wrote, “What is actually gayism, lesbianism? Keep your children away from it?” She went on to call Patel “a bitter person”, criticising her for speaking about ”such sensitive topics without educating themselves“.
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