'The essence of democracy is an artist's liberty': Delhi HC refuses stay on streaming Vir Das' Hasmukh

Art is often the centre of much debate on what's right and wrong. It's also art which seems to offend people faster than anything else does. This has been proven time and time again. It helps when the law gives art the freedom it deserves. 

Vir Das' Hasmukh has been the centre of much debate around its portrayal of characters in the film. Recently, the show faced trouble, when a plea was filed ordering a stay on streaming the show on Netflix. However, the Delhi HC dismissed the claim, citing that it is the artists' discretion to portray the world as he or she perceives it.

Delhi HC allows Hasmukh to continue streaming

Hasmukh, when it came out, created a buzz for its dark comedy and it showing a sinister side to the world of laughter. The Netflix web series which starred comedian Vir Das found itself in trouble not long after its release. 

An advocate Ashutosh Dubey found episode 4 in the series offensive. He claimed that the episode, Bambai Main Bambu maligned the reputation of lawyers. Asking for a stay on the streaming of the show, he also demanded that the makers issue an unconditional apology for maligning the lawyers' image which includes judges, who have at some point been lawyers too. 

The very essence of democracy is that a creative artist is given the liberty to project the picture of the society in a manner he perceives. One of the prime forms of exposing the ills of the society is by portraying a satirical picture of the same. Stand-up comedians perform that very purpose. In their portrayal they use satire and exaggerate the ills to an extent that it becomes a ridicule. In the humorous portrayal of the ills of the society the stand-up comedians use satire. - Delhi High Court

The show revolves around the morality of a comedian, played by Bollywood actor Vir Das whose central theme in his humour revolves around his murders of different professionals from different walks of life. Netflix argued that the intent of the show was not to 'malign' anybody's image but to depict the evil in various walks of life and their impact using dark satire. 

Ashutosh Dubey's plea was refused by a single judge bench of Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva. The ruling observed that satire as a form of comedy exaggerated certain points to portray the ills of society. This is what the ruling said:

This will surely come as a sigh of relief for the makers and cast of the show, which has so far been gaining mixed reviews.