Social media users have gone all bonkers demanding ban on Amazon Prime’s web series Tandav accusing it of ‘disrespecting’ Hindu deities.
#TandavBan is trending on Twitter with thousands tweeting against the actors and the makers of the drama series.
It is not just the social media where the anger reflects. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has summoned Amazon Prime Video following complaints that Hindu gods and goddesses have been ridiculed in the web series.
Additionally, an FIR has also been registered at Lucknow’s Hazratganj Kotwali against Amazon Prime’s India head of original content Aparna Purohit, Tandav’s director Ali Abbas Zafar, producer Himanshu Krishna Mehra, and writer Gaurav Solanki and others for allegedly hurting Hindu sentiments.
The development has come after BJP MP Manoj Kotak wrote a letter to the I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar seeking a ban on the ‘Tandav’ web series.
The Mumbai North-East MP alleged that attempts are often made on such platforms to not show Hindu deities in good light. Sharing the picture of his letter to Javadekar on Twitter, Kotak said as there is no law or autonomous body governing digital content, and films on such platforms are full of sex, violence, drugs, abuse, hate, and vulgarity. “Sometimes, they also hurt religious sentiments,” he added.
“It seems that makers of ‘Tandav’ have deliberately mocked Hindu gods and disrespected Hindu religious sentiments,” he said in the letter dated January 16.
Another politician, Ram Kadam, a BJP MLA from Ghatkopar West, also asked the director to remove the portion of the web series in which Lord Shiva is allegedly ridiculed.
It must be noted that the government brought OTT platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ Hotstar, besides other online news and current affairs content, under the ambit of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in 2020, giving it powers to regulate policies and rules for the digital space.
The web series ‘Tandav’ features Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia, Sunil Grover, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Dino Morea, Kumud Mishra, Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub, Gauhar Khan, and Kritika Kamra in the key roles. It was premiered on Amazon Prime Video on January 15.
Filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar has created, directed, and produced the political drama with Himanshu Kishan Mehra and it is written by Gaurav Solanki, best known for ‘Article 15’.
