Sorry won’t do, Tandav to face music

Feeling the heat and confronted with the online outcry for having hurt Hindu sentiments, the makers of Amazon Prime Video series 'Tandav' on Monday apologised unconditionally. They also took refuge in the disclaimer that ' Tandav' was a "work of fiction" and that "any resemblance to acts and persons and events is purely coincidental".

The apology emanated after I&B Ministry sought an explanation from Amazon Prime. But just an apology may not do, such is the outrage in a section of the population. Legal troubles await the makers and an FIR has been lodged against them for promoting enmity on religious grounds. The FIR also states that the depicted Hindu gods and goddesses are improperly dressed and use foul language. In the same episode there are "conversations that lead to caste conflict..." the complaint added, alleging that other scenes undermined the authority of the office of the Prime Minister and insulted women.

A key aide of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath warned those named in complaints to be prepared to pay the price "and referred to police vehicles’’ - a possible allusion to gangster Vikas Dubey,

who was killed in a controversial encounter with UP Police last year. A team of Lucknow Police has lef t for Mumbai to investigate the matter and interrogate the makers of Tandav, who are accused in the FIR. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, meanwhile, has accused the BJP of undertaking a "tandav (Shiva's dance of destruction) on the serial to deflect attention from the farmers' protest. "Farmers are being dubbed terrorists and the NIA is summoning them. What is all this?" he asked.