Explained | Why 'Ban Netflix' Is Trending On Twitter After Release Of Navarasa

Members of the Muslim community expressed their displeasure over the use of a verse from Holy Quran in the poster of Netflix's 'Navarasa'.

(Source- Netflix's Twitter)

Mumbai: Netflix released its much-awaited anthology series titled 'Navarasa' on Friday (August 6). The nine stand-alone episodes featuring some of the biggest names in South cinema have managed to receive an amazing response from the audience upon its premiere on the leading OTT platform. While netizens have showered ‘Navarasa’ with praises for its impressive storytelling and impeccable performances of actors, few members of the Muslim community have expressed their displeasure over Netflix's advertisement in a leading Tamil daily.  

Raza Academy, an organisation for Indian Sunni Muslims, accused Netflix of publishing a verse from Holy Quran in an advertisement to promote Navarasa on Dailythanthi, a popular Tamil newspaper. Apparently, the front-page advertisement featured a poster of short film ‘Inmai’, which used a verse from Quran. 

The organisation demanded strict action against Netflix, accusing the streaming giant of ‘insulting the holy book’.  

"Netflix has published a verse of the Quran in the advertisement of its film NavaRasa in Daily Thanthi newspaper. This is an insult to the Quran. We demand strict action against @NetflixIndia," a tweet on the official Twitter handle of Raza Academy read.  

A section of Muslim users is miffed with the advertisement as they believe that Quranic verses should not be used as a source of ‘entertaining people’. They trended the hashtag #BanNetflix to mark their protest against the streaming giant for hurting the religious sentiments of the community. 

 "Remember one thing that Quran and Islam are not the sources of entertaining people. It belongs to our dignity and religious beliefs. Please don't hurt our religious feelings by doing these kind of things," one user wrote.

Inami Cast

Navarasa’s short film ‘Inmai’ stars Siddharth, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Pavel Navageethan and Rajesh Balachandran in key roles. Rathindran R. Prasad has directed the film while Vishal Bhardwaj has composed the music for it. 

Veteran filmmaker Mani Ratnam has joined hands with Jayendra Panchapakesan to produce the anthology series under their respective home banners. 'Navarasa' marks the digital debut of Ratnam, who has delivered hits like 'Guru', 'Bombay', to name a few.

The nine different episodes represent different emotions or Navarasas. South biggies like Arvind Swami, Vijay Sethupathi, Prakash Raj have played important roles in the critically acclaimed series. 

On a related note, 'Leila', 'A Suitable Boy' and 'Sacred Games 2' also courted controversy after premiering on Netflix. 

Watch this space for more updates!