Amazon Prime Video’s new anthology series ‘Modern Love: Mumbai’ premiered on the streaming platform on May 13. The series features six stories of love all set in Mumbai, among which is ‘Baai’, which stars Pratik Gandhi, Ranveer Brar and Tanuja. The film focuses on a love story between a gay couple and how the protagonist has hidden his sexuality from his grandmother.
However, the particular episode is curiously missing from the version of ‘Modern Love: Mumbai’ available in the UAE. Many viewers have reported this absence with some speculating it may be due to the nation’s strict stance against the portrayal of LGBTQ romance. Directed by Hansal Mehta, ‘Baai’ focuses on the love story of Manzar (Gandhi) and Rajveer (Brar) and how Manzar has hidden his sexuality from his Baai (grandmother, played by Tanuja). The episode/short film has been applauded for its sensitive portrayal of the LGBTQ community and gay romance.
A few social media users posted over the last few days that the second episode of ‘Modern Love: Mumbai’ was not available in UAE. One Twitter user even said that ‘Made in Heaven’- another show featuring a gay protagonist - was also unavailable in the country. Tagging Amazon AE and Prime Video, Twitter user @shwoooohadha wrote on May 14, “Any reason why Episode 2 of #ModernLoveMumbai is not available in UAE? You guys also took #MadeInHeaven away.” Amazon Help asked them to reach out to the Prime Video team. When the user responded that they did not get any response, the official Amazon Help account responded, “We apologize for that, the content of Prime Video is regional and is determined not only by Amazon. We are trying our best to add new content.”
Other social media posts have also pointed out the absence of ‘Baai’ in the UAE. A post on Reddit’s Bolly Blinds n Gossip subreddit by u/full_metal_028 stated, “I am not able to see the episode Baai in UAE. Have used multiple VPNs as well. My brother can access the 2nd episode from India using my account.” Many in the thread speculated if it was due to the show’s gay romance.
