LUCKNOW/PATNA/NEW DELHI: At least three criminal complaints were filed in various parts of the country against Saif Ali Khan starrer web series Tandav, forcing its cast and crew to issue an apology on Monday evening.
While an FIR was filed in Lucknow, two complaints were lodged with the courts in New Delhi and Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of Hindus and promoting discord among communities. The series, released on Jan 15 and aired on Amazon Prime, is said to be a commentary on the prevailing political situation. Other than Khan, the other actors are Dimple Kapadia, Gauhar Khan, Sunil Grover and Zeeshan Ayub.
A statement from the cast and crew said Tandav is a work of fiction and they did not have any intention to offend any individual, caste, community, race, religion or religious beliefs or insult or outrage any institution, political party or person, living or dead.
“The cast and crew of Tandav take cognizance of the concerns expressed by the people and unconditionally apologize if it has unintentionally hurt anybody’s sentiments,” said the statement. Amazon Prime refused to comment on the controversy.
A Delhi court will take up on Jan 23 a complaint filed before it by Vishnu Gupta, the founder of Hindu Sena, seeking action against Amazon Prime and the makers of the series.
The complaint was filed under Section 200 of the CrPC seeking summoning, commencing trial and punishing the accused for allegedly provoking communal disharmony.
In Mumbai, Maharashtra BJP MLA Ram Kadam alleged in his complaint that the series has “insulted Hindu gods and goddesses” while referring to a particular scene and demanded its deletion.
BJP MP Manoj Kotak also wrote to I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar asking him to regulate content on OTT platforms as these are “full of sex, violence, drugs, abuse, and hatred besides contents hurting Hindus’ sentiments.”
In Lucknow, an FIR was lodged at Hazratganj police station on Sunday against the series’ makers.