Manoj Bajpayee’s Netflix film ‘Ghooskhor Pandat’ faces backlash for title: 'Shame on you...'

Actor Manoj Bajpayee is returning as a police officer in his upcoming crime thriller, titled Ghooskhor Pandat. The project was officially announced by Netflix India on Tuesday, February 3, through a social media post.

The OTT giant posted the teaser of the film, which is written by Neeraj Pandey and is directed by Ritesh Shah. “Har corrupt officer ko badalne ka ek mauka milta hai. Ab Officer Ajay Dixit ki baari. Watch Ghooskhor Pandat, coming soon, only on Netflix,” the caption read.

The clip, which introduces Manoj as a morally compromised, corrupt police officer, has triggered a fierce backlash online not for its plot but for its title. Netizens have criticised the title as casteist, accusing the filmmakers and platforms of targeting a specific community. Many have called for a boycott and demanded an immediate title change, questioning if similar titles would be used for other religious groups.

A user said, “Absolutely shameful, picked a community who is soft target to peddle their bigotry."

Absolutely

shameful, picked a community who is soft target to peddle their bigotry

Change it now or face ban pic.twitter.com/UjNxuo6xv7

— Muji Dakait مجی ڈکیت (@mujifren) February 3, 2026

Another posted, "Hello @NetflixIndia. You given name Ghooskhor Pandit, do you have guts to put Ghooskhor muslim on any of your webseries? Remove this title or be ready to face mass boycott of Netflix."

"Shame on you, @NetflixIndia. The title “Ghooskhor Pandat” is straight up Casteist garbage. You know exactly what you were doing. You didn’t say “Ghooskhor Officer” or “Ghooskhor Babu.” You picked Pandit, a caste marker. That’s not satire, that’s deliberate soft-targeting a specific community," the third user wrote on X.

Shame on you, @NetflixIndia. The title “Ghooskhor Pandat” is straight up Casteist garbage.

You know exactly what you were doing. You didn’t say “Ghooskhor Officer” or “Ghooskhor Babu.” You picked Pandit, a caste marker. That’s not satire, that’s deliberate soft-targeting a… pic.twitter.com/BMNthIHqKH

— Nyaksha (@AstuteNyaksha) February 4, 2026

Another user shared, "Giving Netflix a one-star rating for its upcoming series 'Ghooskhor Pandit'. This title itself targets the entire Brahmin community and promotes a biased, hurtful narrative. Such content disrespects cultural sentiments and pushes prejudice in the name of entertainment.”

Giving Netflix a one-star rating for its upcoming series 'Ghooskhor Pandit'

This title itself targets the entire Brahmin community and promotes a biased, hurtful narrative.

Such content disrespects cultural sentiments and pushes prejudice in the name of entertainment.… pic.twitter.com/cxPhE4iy1L

— ✹ Adi Pandit ✹ (@pandityaa) February 4, 2026

"I belong to the Brahmin community and strongly oppose the use of words like “Ghooskhor Pandat”. Defaming any community in the name of entertainment is unacceptable," an individual said.

Directed by Ritesh Shah, the cast of the film includes Nushrratt Bharuccha, Divya Dutta, Saqib Saleem, Akshay Oberoi, Shraddha Das and Kiku Sharda, among others. It follows the story of a corrupt police officer Ajay Dikshit (nicknamed Pandat), whose plans to make quick money end in jeopardy after he becomes entangled in a global conspiracy. The film set in Delhi follows Pandat's attempts to uncover the identity of a critically injured young woman, who is thrown out of a moving car.