Amazon Prime drama sparks controversy in India | The Asian Age Online, Bangladesh
The cast and crew of Amazon Prime show Tandav have apologized after the political drama was accused of being insensitive to Hindus.
Some Hindu politicians called for the show to be removed and complaints have been filed to the police.
One member of the ruling BJP party claimed it was “deliberately mocking Hindu gods”.
The show stars Bollywood A-lister Saif Ali Khan and is loosely based on hit show House of Cards.
One of the criticized scenes shows a university play in which Hindu god Shiva talks about “azadi” (freedom), which is a controversial term in India.
“Tandav is a work of fiction and any resemblance to acts and persons and events is purely coincidental,” the show’s director, Ali Abbas Zafar, wrote in a statement posted on Instagram and Twitter on Monday.
“The cast and crew of Tandav… unconditionally apologize if it has unintentionally hurt anybody’s sentiments,” he added.
He said India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting told the cast and crew it had received “a large number of grievances and petitions… with serious concerns and apprehensions” over the series.
It began to draw criticism from members of the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party after its Friday release.
According to the Hindustan Times, police were seen stationed outside Khan’s Mumbai home on Sunday.
Ram Kadam, a BJP leader and local legislator in the state of Maharashtra, said he filed a police complaint in Mumbai over the weekend.
Local police confirmed that they had received Kadam’s complaint but had not yet started an investigation, according to CNN.
A spokesperson for Amazon India told the BBC they would not be making any comment on the controversy.
The show focuses on the life of Samar Pratap Singh (Saif Ali Khan), a politician who is hoping his father Devki Nandan (Tigmanshu Dhulia), who is also the prime minister of India, will offer the role to him. But his father seemingly has other plans.
