Tandav director Ali Abbas Zafar issues unconditional apology

Lucknow: A First Information Report (FIR) was lodged in the capital city of Uttar Pradesh against makers of web series 'Tandav' for promoting enmity between different groups of society on the grounds of religion and posing threat to communal harmony.

The FIR has named Amazon Prime’s Original, Aparna Purohit, director of the series Ali Abbas Zafar, producer Himanshu Krishna Mehra and writer Gaurav Solanki.

The case was filed by the police under IPC sections 153 A, 295, 505, 1B, 505 (2), 469, and IT acts 66, 66 F, and 67, in connection with the controversy revolving around Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia starrer web series.

As soon as the series was released on the digital platform, the controversy created the storm that the makers of ‘Tandav’ have deliberately tried to mock Hindu Gods and disrespected Hindu sentiments. It also presented a derogatory and indecent depiction of the Prime Minister of India. Scenes that offend women have also been prominently featured on the web series.

The complaint stated that a few minutes after the first episode, people dressed up like Hindu Gods were blaspheming.

The complaint reads, “In the same episode there are conversations that lead to caste conflict, there are similar scenes in many other episodes. In the web series, the character of the person occupying the high post of India's Prime Minister has been shown in a very indecent manner. The series depicts lower and higher castes and scenes that insult women, and the intent... seems to be to hurt the religious feelings of one community and to spread conflict".

Soon after the case was registered, the media advisor of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's, Shalabh Mani Tripathi took to Twitter and shared a copy of it.

He captioned the post as, “There is no tolerance for playing with people's sentiments in Uttar Pradesh under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. A serious case has been registered against the entire team of Tandav, which is spreading hate in the guise of cheap web series. Prepare for arrest.”

The information and broadcasting ministry has also sought an explanation from Amazon Prime after a controversy broke out over the recently premiered political drama.

It is no wonder that the silent consent of the previous governments on the humiliation of the Hindu religion in films and entertainment shows had boosted the morale of the filmmakers who gained cheap popularity by making fun of the Hindu deities.

After the ministry of I&B intervened in the matter the director of the series Ali Abbas Zafar also issued an unconditional apology. He stated that there was no intention to hurt sentiments of people hailing from any caste, creed or religion. The web series Tandav is merely a work of fiction.(UNI)