Eros Now, an Indian entertainment media platform under Eros International, is facing the wrath of people on social media for sharing vulgar and "distasteful" memes about the Hindu festival of Navaratri.
Netizens are calling out the film production company by trending #BoycottErosNow in India and slamming the company for "outrageous content", forcing the media platform to issue an apology.
"You need a dandi (stick) to play dandiya (folk dance) – I have one", read a meme in question by Eros alongside a picture of actor Salman Khan. The company shared several such tweets which were termed "Hinduphobic" and a "mockery" of the Hindu religion.
Dear @ErosNow, Why have you posted these double-meaning vulgar banners for the auspicious festive season?
— Dr Gaurav Garg (@DrGauravGarg4) October 22, 2020
I have a feeling that these brands already know that people will feel offended and they will run hashtags and therefore they will get FREE publicity. #BoycottErosNow pic.twitter.com/dL0usDBVF3
Ali Hussein is CEO of #erosnow
— Baba Saga (@BabaNoorani) October 22, 2020
Just see the difference between wishes on Eid & Hindu festivals.
Same difference you will see in writings of Atheist & secular writers of Bollywood like Javed Akhtar.
And people ask "naam mein kya rakha hai?"#BoycottErosNow#ErosNowAntiHindu pic.twitter.com/ydiBf198bY
Bollywood actress Kangna Raunant termed the production company a "porn hub" and slammed it in series of tweets for sharing "sensational content to arouse viewer's sexual appetite".
Even on international streaming platforms the nature of the content is sensational we need to manufacture overtly sexual, deeply gruesome brutal, violent content, essentially to arouse the viewer’s sexual appetite, very difficult to get any other content cleared by their teams.
— Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) October 22, 2020
Following the backlash, Eros issued a statement apologising for the stunt and took down the posts.
"We at Eros love and respect our cultures equally. It is not, and it has never been our intention to hurt anyone's emotions. We have deleted the concerned post and apologise for having offended anybody's sentiment".
— Eros Now (@ErosNow) October 22, 2020
Netflix India also faced a similar controversy for its movie "Krishna and His Leela". It was deemed "anti-Hindu" for showing the lead actors in an immoral way and sparked online protests.
