"Pains Me": Actor On Marital Rape In Web Series Being Called "Sex Scene"

Actor and model Mehreen Pirzada, who recently made her OTT debut in the Milan Luthria-directed web series "Sultan of Delhi," has criticized the mainstream media and social media trolls for describing marital rape as a "sex scene."

The actress who plays the character of Sanjana in the web series wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) that "there was a scene in Sultan of Delhi that depicted a brutal marital rape. It pains me to see that a serious issue like marital rape has been described by many in the media as a "sex scene." This trivializes something that is a serious issue that many women the world over are currently dealing with."

Recently I made my OTT Debut in the web series, “Sultan of Delhi” on Disney Hotstar. I hope my fans have enjoyed watching the series. Sometimes scripts demand certain actions which might go against your own morals. As a professional actor who considers acting an art and at the…

— Mehreen Pirzada👑 (@Mehreenpirzada) October 17, 2023

"It disturbs me that a certain section of the media and people on social media have picked up on this; these people should understand that they have sisters and daughters too, and I pray to God they never have to go through such trauma in their own lives, as just the thought of such brutality and violence against women is repugnant," she said.

She concluded the post by writing that "as an actor, it's my job to do justice to the role, and the team at Sultan of Delhi, helmed by Milan Luthria Sir, was extremely professional in making sure that we as actors were at no point uncomfortable or exposed during the shooting of some very difficult scenes. I hope as an artist to do my best in every role for my audience, be it Mahalakshmi, Sanjana, or Honey."

Social media users have widely praised her post, expressing support for her views and commending her performance in the web series.

"I can second your views on what the depiction of the scene would be. The problem lies in what people perceive because many are conditioned to believe what they decipher from that scene is right according to their perspectives," commented a user.

"Stay strong, Mehreen Pirzada, ma'am," wrote another user.