Politicians in the ruling party are calling for the show to be scrapped, saying they are “deliberately mocking Hindu gods.”
The cast and crew of a popular streaming series starring Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan have apologized after ruling party politicians called the show insensitive to Hindus.
The Amazon Prime Tandav drama – vaguely compared to the American House of Cards series – drew criticism from members of the nationalist-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after its launch on Friday.
Several BJP politicians have called for the show to be removed, saying it “deliberately mocks Hindu gods” and does not respect religious sentiments.
One of the criticized scenes depicts a university play in which the Hindu god Shiva talks about “aazadi” (freedom), a cry of last year’s anti-government protests in the capital.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting told the distribution and the team that it received “a large number of grievances and petitions … with serious concerns and reservations” about the series, director Ali Abbas Zafar wrote in a post on Instagram and Twitter on Monday.
“Tandav is a work of fiction and any resemblance to acts, people and events is purely coincidental,” he added in a statement.
“The Tandav cast and crew … apologize unconditionally if they unintentionally hurt someone’s feelings.”
Our sincere apologies. pic.twitter.com/Efr9s0kYnl
– ali abbas zafar (@aliabbaszafar) January 18, 2021
Police were seen stationed outside Khan’s home in Mumbai on Sunday in the middle of the line, the Hindustan Times reported.
Top streaming platforms, including Netflix, Amazon and Disney’s Hotstar, have expanded their presence in the country by 1.3 billion euros, including by ordering local content.
Streaming TV services are not subject to the country’s strict censorship rules, which regularly lead to scenes cut from shows and movies.
But there have been growing calls, especially from BJP politicians, for online broadcasts to be subject to the same scrutiny.
The latest controversy involved the BBC’s TV version of author Vikram Seth’s bestselling epic novel, A Fit Boy, which airs on Netflix, on a scene in which a Hindu girl kisses a Muslim boy in front of a Hindu temple.
A BJP state politician filed a complaint with the police in November, saying the show affected the religious feelings of Hindus.