(Image source from: patrika.com)
The Walt Disney company owned American Broadcast Company (ABC) has apologized for its Indian fans of terrorism thriller and drama "Quantico" after an episode featuring Indian nationalists trying to frame Pakistan in a terrorist plot sparked online indignation against Indian actress Priyanka Chopra, who plays a protagonist role in a show.
"The episode has stirred a lot of emotion, much of which is unfairly aimed at Priyanka Chopra, who didn't create the show, nor does she write or direct it," said Walt Disney-owned ABC in its statement.
Chopra,35, is a venerable Bollywood star in India, admired for her ability to cross over and attain success in Hollywood, which has been uncommon for Indian actors.
Chopra has faced online onset at abode, after the recent Quantico episode and as well some calls to boycott her work and brands that she endorses, including South Korean giant Samsung Electronics Co.
Some have as well called on the regime to extinguish the scene where Chopra, who stars as a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent in the series, holds up sacred Hindu prayer beads as evidence that the plotter in the episode, planning to explode a nuclear bomb in New York, was an Indian nationalist.
"The myth of Hindu terror, by a fake story, enters American television with the help of Priyanka Chopra. Would any Pakistani actress betray Pakistan or Islam the way she betrays India and Hinduism?", David Frawley, a Hindu scholar based in the United States, tweeted.
ABC, in its statement, said Chopra has no involvement in the storylines pictured in the series.
"The show has featured antagonists of many different ethnicities and backgrounds, but in this case, we inadvertently and regrettably stepped into a complex political issue. It was certainly not our intention to offend anyone," ABC said in a statement on Friday.
In India, in recent years movies and popular culture have been under onslaught from Hindu nationalists.
Earlier this year, actors of Bollywood film "Padmaavat" were threatened over the release and violent protests for a fringe outfit. The movie showed a Muslim ruler pursuing a Hindu queen.
In 2016, Online retail company Snapdeal was constrained to drop Bollywood actor Aamir Khan as its ambassador over his statement on intolerance in India.
By Sowmya Sangam
