Highlights
- UP Deputy Chief Minister says Tandav makers have committed a crime.
- Four-member UP police team has arrived in Mumbai to investigate.
- Tandav makers have been accused of hurting Hindu religious sentiments.
The makers of Tandav, a Hindi language political show now streaming on Amazon Prime, will face tough legal action for hurting Hindu sentiments, the Uttar Pradesh government has said. Multiple police cases have been filed against the series in the state, apart from those Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
"The producer, director, and artistes of web series Tandav have committed the crime of spoiling social harmony and unity and hurting Hindu religious sentiments. Tough legal action will be taken," Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said today in a tweet.
A team of four police personnel has reached Mumbai for investigation following the registration of a case at Hazratganj Police Station in Lucknow against the makers of web series and an officer of OTT platform Amazon Prime. The team is likely to question the cast and crew.
Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh today said in Mumbai that the UP police had indicated officially that their team will arrive for investigations.
"We have received a complaint over Tandav. We will take action according to the law. Since it is an OTT film, the Central government must be bringing in laws so that social fault lines are not created," Mr Deshmukh told media persons.
A case was also filed today in Mumbai by BJP legislator Ramchandra Kadam against the cast and crew of Tandav, including directed by Ali Abbas Zafar and actors Saif Ali Khan and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub.
On Monday, the cast and crew of Tandav issued an "unconditional" apology, saying they did not intend to offend religious beliefs or sentiments. They also referred to parts of a disclaimer that is an industry standard and said the web series was a "work of fiction" and that "any resemblance to acts and persons and events is purely coincidental". The apology followed the Information and Broadcasting Ministry's seeking of a response from Amazon Prime.
By Tuesday, the Tandav team was willing to make changes in the content "to address concerns".
The web series was released on Friday and quickly triggered protests and drew criticism on social media. Multiple cases have been filed against the series in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Leading streaming platforms, including Netflix, Amazon, and Disney's Hotstar, have expanded their presence in the country of 1.3 billion, including by commissioning local content. These services are not subject to the country's notoriously fussy censor boards, which regularly cut scenes. There have, however, been growing calls, particularly from BJP politicians, for the shows to be subject to the same scrutiny.s