India, June 11 -- The announcement for the upcoming Harry Potter TV series cast has sparked significant discussions - especially among the Indian fanbase - following Monday night's reveal that Italian actor Alessia Leoni will portray Parvati Patil. In the movies, this role was played by British actor Shefali Chowdhury. Social media backlash followed, with fans on Reddit and X voicing frustration at the casting choice. A Reddit user captured the sentiment: "I'm so sick of Hollywood casting biracial, half white desi actors." Another remarked: "I'll gladly delete this and eat my words if she is Desi, but with a name like Alessia Leoni I don't have much hope." On X, one user asked: "This is frustrating. Why cast an Italian who just looks brown to play Parvati Patil? They easily could've cast an actual Indian actress. So much for 'diversity'.(sic)" This controversy echoes earlier backlash over the casting of British actor Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, a character originally portrayed by the late Alan Rickman. At that time, fans expressed outrage that the new series chose a non-white actor for a role widely identified with a white British wizard-an uproar that resurfaced debates about fidelity to the source material. Among other casting nine additional roles in the new series: Katherine Parkinson as Molly Weasley; Lox Pratt and Johnny Flynn as Draco and Lucius Malfoy; Leo Earley as Seamus Finnigan; Sienna Moosah as Lavender Brown; Bel Powley and Daniel Rigby as Petunia and Vernon Dursley.htc...