YouTube Removes Content
Mumbai: The Indian web series Bharzakh, which starred Pakistani actors Fawad Khan and Sanam Saeed, will be removed from YouTube. The show received heavy criticism for its portrayal of LGBTQ+ themes, among other sensitive issues.
About the Series
Bharzakh is a Pakistani show written and directed by Asim Abbasi with Indian producers for ZEE5. It touches on various subjects that have been highly debated. In one episode, two male characters were shown in a romantic scene, which became a major bone of contention. Moreover, it also involved indecent acts, cheating on spouses, and playing with kids’ mindsets.
Reaction by Pakistani Audience
In Pakistan, where such topics are usually met with great opposition, the representation of LGBTQ+ material in ‘Bharzakh’ has triggered strong responses. Moreover, putting these together with everything else controversial about it led to demands for pulling it off the airwaves altogether.
Indian YouTube Channel’s Decision
After facing backlash over their series from people across borders, most notably within Pakistan itself, the Indian YouTube channel ‘Zindagi’ announced on 9th August they would no longer host this drama series called Bharzakh starting next month so as not to hurt anyone’s feelings according to an Instagram post made public by them yesterday evening where they said: “Keeping in view sentiments expressed by our viewers during past few days we have decided to remove drama serial Bharzakh.”
More Meaning & Future Prospects
The move might have wider implications beyond just taking down Bharzakh off YouTube because of how different cultures perceive LGBTQ content. What happened here serves as an example illustrating what happens when creators go beyond cultural boundaries to tackle delicate matters. It also begs the question of whether similar materials will ever find their way into regions having diverse value systems or not, considering that streaming services should be prepared for such complicated scenarios while handling them henceforth. People who created, watched, or are part of the industry will be eager to know. What happens next and if any lessons learned could affect future content decisions within media establishments. And exchange programs between different countries.
