In a week when US President Donald Trump's India visit is one of the most keenly watched events around the world, streaming service Hotstar has silently omitted the latest episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, an Emmy award-winning news satire talk show. Interestingly, the latest episode of the HBO show, which aired in the US on Sunday, talks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity and several controversies surrounding the BJP and its parent organisation, the RSS.
Oliver talks in length about the latest citizenship law, which has led to widespread protests in India, in the latest episode of Last Week Tonight. “But while Modi may have charmed (Bear) Grylls, the world and our current president (Trump), within India, he’s an increasingly controversial figure,” Oliver says in the episode, which has been uploaded in his channel on YouTube. In reference to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the NRC, Oliver claims that Modi's government has escalated campaigns of persecution against religious minorities, leading to abundant protests in India. Oliver claims the NRC and CAA are part of a deliberate strategy to single out Muslims. He goes on to explain why Trump's reference to Modi as the "father of India" is "stupid at best, and dangerous at worst".
Apart from watching Last Week Tonight With John Oliver on YouTube, Indian viewers accessed the show via online streaming platform Hotstar. The show, which goes up online on Hotstar by 6am on Tuesdays, is yet to be uploaded (till the time of publishing of this article). Repeated attempts to connect with a spokesperson of Hotstar has not elicited a response.
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In his latest episode, Oliver also briefs about Hindu nationalism, RSS founders' alleged veneration of Adolf Hitler, the Gujarat riots in 2002 when Modi was the state's chief minister and the demonetisation move in 2016, which wrecked the Indian economy.
It is to be noted that Walt Disney Co's Disney+ streaming service is planning its India debut in March, piggybacking on Hotstar. As a result, Hotstar VIP and Premium is will be rebranded as Disney+Hotstar
Disney bought Hotstar in 2019 through a $71-billion purchase of Twenty-First Century Fox. Currently, Hotstar claims to have the largest market share in the India over-the-top (OTT) space thanks to its cricket broadcast rights.
