Mumbai: A hashtag demanding the arrest of television actress Munmun Dutta started trending on Twitter Monday after she used what netizens said was a casteist slur in her latest YouTube video. Munmun, best known for her role of Babita in “Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah”, soon issued an apology.
However, her apology has not gone down well with many people including “Masaan” director Neeraj Ghaywan.
Earlier, in the video, Munmun was talking about make-up when she referred to a particular community. The comment created widespread furore and Munmun apologised saying she was “genuinely misinformed about the meaning of the word”.
Her apology, issued on Twitter, reads: “This is in reference to a video that I posted yesterday where in one word used by me has been misinterpreted. It was never said with the intent of insult, intimidate, humiliate or hurt anyone’s feelings.”
“Because of my language barrier, I was genuinely misinformed about the meaning of the word. Once I was made aware of its meaning, I immediately took the part down. I have utmost respect for every single person from every caste, creed or gender and acknowledge their immense contribution to our society or nation,” she added.
“I sincerely would like to apologise to every single person who have been an unintentionally hurt by the usage of the word and I sincerely regret for the same,” she further wrote.
While the actress has deleted the particular portion from her video, the deleted clip has gone viral on social media. Upset netizens are now demanding the actress be arrested for her disrespectful remark.
Among those who tweeted their criticism is filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan. “Has been misinterpreted? Never said it with intent to hurt? There is no other interpretation! You said the B word and there is no way to cover it up. Apologise and shut up,” Ghaywan wrote.