Mumbai: A resident of Mirzapur has moved a PIL in the Supreme Court against the Amazon Prime Video web series Mirzapur, taking exception to the manner in which the eponymous city has been portrayed in the show as a den of terror, crime and other illegal activities.

"The said web series has shown every resident of Mirzapur as goon, vagabond and adulterer. The said web series is filled with nudity, vulgarity and abusive language," the plea said.

The petitioner has sought a ban on the series and urged for the constituting of a pre-screening committee that examines and clears every web-series before its release. A certificate from the ministry of information and broadcasting should be made mandatory, it added.

The Supreme Court has sought response from Amazon Prime Video and the makers of the show. A bench headed by chief justice of India SA Bobde, after a brief hearing, has issued notice to the streaming platform, the central government and the producer of the show, Excel Entertainment.

It must be noted that there is no clear draft or policy on what kind of content is banned on the online medium, unlike television which is governed by the Cable TV Act. 

Mirzapur is the second Amazon Prime Video show that has become engulfed in controversy. A few days ago, its latest offering Tandav sparked a firestorm for allegedly “insulting Hindu gods.” The makers of the political thriller starring Saif Ali Khan and Dimple Kapadia have been forced to edit out some scenes after the backlash. The Uttar Pradesh government said the web-series makers would have to "pay" for "hurting religious sentiments."

This isn't the first time Mirzapur has been pulled up for something like this. Last year, a day after the release of the show's second season, Mirzapur MP Anupriya Patel wrote in a tweet that under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, the city of Mirzapur has shown development and is 'a centre of harmony', but the show tarnishes that image.