Maitreyi Ramakrishnan's Best Of The Best lands in trouble (Image Credit: Netflix) Maitreyi Ramakrishnan’s latest Netflix comedy, Best of the Best, was released amid much hype. However, hours after its premiere on the streaming platform, a section of the audience was unhappy with the representation of the Indian community. The actress, a Sri Lankan Tamil, was projected as an Indian Tamil in the movie based on a Bollywood fusion dance competition. Maitreyi, being a Tamil Eelam, could be seen performing a Bharatanatyam act in the Netflix film. A section of the internet accused the makers of misappropriation of the Indian Tamil community outside India. Reacting to Maitreyi’s Sri Lankan Tamil identity and an alleged misappropriation of the Indian community, one netizen wrote, “She isn’t an Indian but the only reason she plays Indian is because she is dark and satisfies the glaze of Hollywood as to how Indians look. This is mischaracterization at best and evil at worse.” Another commented, “They have nicely held up a mirror to Indian cinema, especially Tamil filmmakers…..Please cast local talent; people who genuinely look, sound and feel like the communities they represent. It could go a very long way towards challenging colourism, celebrating real beauty and diversity.” One added, “She has nothing to do with India. Tell her to stop misappropriating Indian art forms, even when acting in a stereotypical movie.” Asking filmmakers to make appropriate castings, a netizen commented, “She’s not Indian, she’s Sri Lankan. I don’t blame her I blame the creators of the show. If they want the Indian diaspora to watch these shows they need to cast the right people for the right roles.” Another wrote, “She’s not Indian. Why’s she being cast in a movie about Bollywood?” One commented, “1st, she's not Indian, and is playing a character who is a dancer who specialises in indian dance form. 2nd stop claiming indian culture saying it's south asian...... Also it's not even pure indian clasical dance.. it's some fusion of kathak nd bharatnatyam.” On the other hand, Best of the Best landed in trouble for one of its dialogues. In the film, Maitreyi’s character says, “Guys throw themselves at you like you're the last plane out of Kabul.” A section of the internet criticised Prashanth Venkataramanujam and Hasan Minhaj, the writers of the Netflix comedy, for being insensitive. One comment read, “What on Earth is wrong with y’all? Who gave the green light for this insensitive, disgusting line on ‘Best of the Best’? Making a mockery of one of the tragic days in Afghanistan’s history is utterly disgusting. Afghans were fleeing for their lives that day, while also dealing with suicide bombing ISIS-K (at least 182 killed), stampedes (11 died), and a US drone strike (10 killed). Afghans were literally clinging on to airplanes to escape the arrival of the T***ban. My people’s trauma is not for you to entertain and mock. Shame on all of you.” Internet reacts to Best of the Best's Kabul dialogue Another added, “Jeeze!! Could they be anymore Callous?! That’s just disgusting. This show should be cancelled.” Best of the Best is described as a coming-of-age comedy set in the fiercely competitive world of collegiate Bollywood-fusion dance. Directed by Lena Khan and written by Prashanth Venkataramanujam and Hasan Minhaj, the film stars Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Maya and Priyanka Kedia as Anjali, two childhood best friends whose bond is tested as they chase the U.S. Championship. The ensemble cast also includes Ankur Rathee, Janina Gavankar, Chaneil Kular, Becky Alex, Shreya Navile, Hasan Minhaj, Lilly Singh, Nihar Duvvuri, Nico Greetham, Amryn Khurana, Tanishq Joshi, Saara Chaudry and Sasha Bhasin. DISCLAIMER: The article is a compilation of thoughts posted by netizens and satire doing the rounds on the subject. Ideas expressed do not reflect the view of Times Network. A quintessential Bollywood buff, I keep myself updated with all the latest developments. With an experience in covering cinema, I believe in serving d... View More