In a letter to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), Netflix argued that its show 'Bombay Begums' did not promote substance abuse or depict minors engaging in sexual activity. MediaNama accessed the letter sent by Netflix India on March 12 to the NCPCR through a Right To Information (RTI) application. "We strongly think that watching only the [scenes where one teenage girl is seen drinking alcohol and taking drugs in a party she attends for her school friend and where another girl is seen clicking pictures of herself at school to send to a guy] in isolation would not justify the entire narrative of [the character] Shai's plot in the Series," Netflix India Director & Senior Counsel, Intellectual Property Priyanka Chaudhari said. The streaming platform that watching the series in "isolation would not justify the entire narrative" framed around the minor character portrayed in the series and that by watching the entire series would "leave a positive impact" on viewers."Any viewer who watches these Scenes as a part of the Series, will understand the positive narrative and messaging to the youth that we are trying to communicate through the journey of this character," Chaudhari added. Netflix declined to comment on the letter. The NCPCR was not convinced by that argument, and forwarded the case to Mumbai Police on March 16. In April, the NCPCR directed the Mumbai Police to register a complaint against the series in light of the specific scenes. It summoned a senior official for…
