Violence and rape will not be accepted; The series on Phoolan Devi has been halted; Netflix legal team takes a firm stand

The series based on the life of Phoolan Devi, directed by Canadian filmmaker Richie Mehta, has been halted. The decision to stop the series came after it failed to receive approval from Netflix's legal team. The presence of violence and rape-related content in the series was cited as the primary reason for the legal team's disapproval.

Richie Mehta is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, best known for directing the web series Delhi Crime, which was inspired by the Nirbhaya case. The first season of Delhi Crime was released in 2019, and last year, Mehta gained further recognition for his Netflix series Poacher. Following these successes, he had planned to develop a new series based on the life of Phoolan Devi.

After the script was approved by the creative team, it was sent to the legal team for review. However, Netflix’s legal team stated that the series could not be approved for an OTT release due to its depiction of violence and rape.

Phoolan Devi gained infamy through the Behmai massacre, where she shot dead 22 men from Thakur families in broad daylight as an act of revenge for a gang rape she had suffered. The series also touches on issues such as the mistreatment of women and caste discrimination. Due to these sensitive themes, Netflix’s legal team ultimately decided not to approve the series.