'Sikaar' producer accuses Amazon Prime Video of 'regional racism'
Sam Bhattacharjee, the producer of the upcoming Assamese film Sikaar, has accused Amazon Prime Video India of "regional racism" after the streaming platform declined to include the movie in its 2025-26 lineup. The film, featuring Adil Hussain, Zubeen Garg, and Urmila Mahanta, was reportedly rejected by Prime Video due to its focus on mainstream films in languages other than Assamese.
Bhattacharjee criticizes Amazon's content selection process
Bhattacharjee approached Prime Video India three weeks ago to discuss the possibility of Sikaar being streamed on the platform. However, he was informed that their 2025-26 slate is limited to mainstream films in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, Marathi, Punjabi, and Gujarati. Bhattacharjee expressed his disappointment with this decision, stating that it "feels offensive and reeks of regional racism."
'Amazon's exclusion of North-East Indian content feels offensive'
Bhattacharjee further added, "Amazon may deliver products to the North-Eastern states, but their content selection process for Amazon Prime Video is questionable, especially when they don't even consider screeners. While OTT platforms have their policies, Amazon's exclusion of North-East Indian content feels offensive and reeks of regional racism."
Director Debangkar Borgohain criticizes streaming giants for ignoring Assamese language
Debangkar Borgohain, the director of Sikaar, also criticized the move by streaming platforms to exclude Assamese language productions. He told Mid-Day, "We faced mass visa rejections [for the UK] for our cast and crew when Sikaar was being made. Now, with streaming giants ignoring our language, it feels like we're being denied our right to be part of India's cultural landscape."
Amazon Prime Video's representatives remain silent on the issue
Despite the controversy, Amazon Prime Video's representatives have not yet issued a statement regarding the matter. This has further fueled the debate on linguistic demarcation within India, particularly when foreign-owned companies like Amazon make business decisions that appear to deepen the divide.
