Tandav’s makers apologise as clamour to ban series grows

NEW DELHI: The makers of web series Tandav, who are facing police action, issued an unconditional apology on Monday and said they did not intend to offend sentiments of any caste, community or religion — a statement that came in the backdrop of growing criticism by a section of politicians, including those from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who argued that the drama streaming on Amazon Prime Video depicted Hindu gods in a bad light.

The statement by the makers also said the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry told them about “a large number of grievances and petitions received on various facets of the web series”. “The cast and crew of Tandav take cognisance of the concerns expressed by the people and unconditionally apologise if it has unintentionally hurt anybody’s sentiments,” it said.

Late on Sunday, police in Lucknow registered a first information report, or FIR, on a complaint by sub-inspector Amar Nath Yadav at the Hazratganj Kotwali police station against Aparna Purohit, the head of

Amazon India’s original content, director Ali Abbas, and producer Himanshu Krishna Mehra, among others, on charges of promoting enmity between different groups and insulting a religion.

In the political arena too, the show faced intense criticism. In Madhya Pradesh, home minister Narottam Mishra threatened to initiate legal action. Maharashtra BJP MLA Ram Kadam called for a boycott of the series, while Delhi BJP leader Kapil Mishra said he sent a legal notice for the show’s immediate removal.