Makers of Netflix show Hasmukh, starring Vir Das, get legal notice over remarks about lawyers

The makers of the Netflix show, Hasmukh, featuring Vir Das, have been sent a legal notice and accused of spreading "false, defamatory, and inauthentic" information about the legal profession.

The show features Das as a stand-up comedian from Saharanpur who goes on a killing spree. The show is currently being streamed on Netflix.

According to the legal website BarandBench.com, the notice was sent by lawyers Abhishek Bhardwaj and Hardik Vashisth, asking the makers of the show to tender an unconditional apology, failing which criminal proceedings would be initiated against them. Further, they asked the makers to remove the objectionable content from the show.

The legal proceedings are based on a joke made by Hasmukh in the show, which takes a potshot at lawyers, calling them "thieves, scoundrels, and goons". According to BarandBench.com, the litigants stated that the joke was "highly defamatory and brings disrepute to the law profession in the eye of the general public".

Hasmukh is directed by Nikhil Gonsalves and written by Gonsalves, Das, Suparn S Verma, Neeraj Pandey and Amogh Ranadive. Besides Das, the series features Ranvir Shorey, Inaamulhaq and Manoj Pahwa. Netflix began streaming the show, consisting of 10 episodes, from 17 April.