BSP supremo Mayawati on Friday slammed the Manoj Bajpayee-starrer Netflix film Ghooskhor Pandit over its name, and demanded legal action and a ban, calling it insulting and disrespectful. Amid the raging row over the title of the upcoming film written by Neeraj Pandey, Mayawati said it “has caused widespread anger within the Brahmin community, and the party strongly condemns it”.
Mayawati’s views on the Ghooskhor Pandit row comes weeks after the BSP supremo took a stand against the UGC’s equity rules, which sought to deal with caste-based discrimination in higher educational institutions. Mayawati batted “for ensuring proper representation of upper-caste communities in enquiry committees as part of natural justice”.
Now, Mayawati has called the Netflix film Ghooskhor Pandat, “casteist” and has sought a ban and an FIR over the issue.
Mayawati’s stand on Ghooskhor Pandat and the UGC equity rules comes less than a year before the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election. Though her BSP is seen as a party backed by Dalits, Mayawati had brought together SCs, STs, OBCs and “upper castes” to come to power in UP in 2007.
The upcoming Neeraj Pandey film, Ghooskhor Pandat, kicked up a big storm for allegedly hurting religious and caste sentiments.
A writ petition has been filed in the Delhi High Court seeking an immediate stay on the film’s release, arguing that the title defames the Brahmin community by linking a “sacred designation” with corruption. Further, the Film Makers Combine (FMC) issued a notice to the producers claiming the title was used without mandatory industry registration, while the NHRC has also sent a notice to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
In response to these developments, the filmmakers have withdrawn all promotional material, and both Neeraj Pandey and Manoj Bajpayee have clarified that the title, Ghooskhor Pandat refers only to a character’s nickname in a fictional drama.
MAYAWATI SEEKS BAN ON ‘CASTEIST’ FILM GHOOSKHOR PANDAT
“It is a matter of great sorrow and concern that for some time now, not only in Uttar Pradesh but even in films, Pandits are being portrayed as bribe-takers and corrupt, leading to their insult and disrespect across the country. This has caused widespread anger within the Brahmin community, and our party strongly condemns it,” Mayawati wrote on X on Friday.
“The BSP demands that the Central government immediately ban such a caste-targeting film or web series, Ghooskhor Pandit. In this context, the registration of an FIR by the Lucknow Police is an appropriate step,” the former Uttar Pradesh (UP) CM added.
Meanwhile, on orders of UP CM Yogi Adityanath, the Hazratganj police station in Lucknow has registered an FIR against the director of the film and his team on charges of insulting a particular caste and promoting enmity, reported news agency PTI.
According to the FIR, the case has been registered under Sections 196 (promoting enmity on grounds of religion, caste or language), 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), 352 (intentional insult aimed at provoking a breach of peace) and 353 (public mischief) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with Section 66 of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, reported PTI.
MAYAWATI SIDED WITH ‘UPPER-CASTES’ DURING UGC ROW
Weeks ago, Mayawati, reacting to the controversy over the UGC’s equity rules, had said that the “new rules had instead created an atmosphere of social tension”, and criticised the UGC for not taking “all stakeholders into confidence before implementing the rules”.
“The new rules implemented by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to prevent caste-based incidents in government and private universities have instead created an atmosphere of social tension… This social tension could have been avoided had the UGC taken all stakeholders into confidence before implementing the rules and ensured proper representation of upper-caste communities in enquiry committees as part of natural justice,” Mayawati posted on X on January 29.
The rules, which the Supreme Court had kept in abeyance, were deemed “appropriate” by the BSP chief.
BSP DEEMED A DALIT PARTY, BUT MAYAWATI INVOKED SARVAJAN TO COME TO POWER
Mayawati’s stand on these two issues, less than a year before the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, could be seen as a consolidation effort as her party tries hard for a resurgence. Though the BSP is often portrayed by political opponents as a Dalit-only party, it came to power in UP through social engineering that united Dalits, OBCs and “upper castes”.
Then, Mayawati had raised the slogan “Sarvajan Hitay, Sarvajan Sukhay” (for the welfare and happiness of all). She also appointed Satish Chandra Mishra, a prominent Brahmin lawyer, as the party’s General Secretary, who helped the BSP win a full majority in the 2007 UP Assembly elections.
The BSP in 2007 clinched an absolute majority in the UP Assembly with a 30.46 per cent vote share, again driven by a broad social coalition under Ambedkarite ideals. However, after 2012, the party’s graph went into free fall.
Today, the BSP holds just one seat each in the UP Assembly and the Rajya Sabha, and none in the Lok Sabha or the UP State Legislative Council.
So, in light of the upcoming UP Assembly polls in early 2027, the Mayawati-led BSP appears to be reviving its old Sarvajan formula, and signalling to “upper castes” without abandoning its core Dalit voter base. With its organisational strength weakened and footprint shrunk, Mayawati’s remarks might be as much for “natural justice” as for survival of the BSP.
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Published By:
Sushim Mukul
Published On:
Feb 6, 2026
