The Saif Ali Khan starrer ‘Tandav’ has been the face of huge backlash from viewers who think the show has ‘hurt religious sentiments’.
Now, director Ali Abbas Zafar, has publicly apologized for the same in a statement posted on Instagram after being summoned by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.
“We have been closely monitoring viewer reactions to the web series ‘Tandav’ and today during a discussion, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting have informed us regarding a large number of grievances and petitions received on various facets of the web series with serious concerns and apprehensions regarding its content hurting the sentiments of the people,” read the statement.
The statement continued, “The web series ‘Tandav’ is a work of fiction and any resemblance to acts and persons and events is purely coincidental. The cast and crew did not have any intention to offend the sentiments of 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 apologise if it has unintentionally hurt anybody’s sentiments.“
Several political leaders took offence at the particular scene in which Mohd. Zeeshan Ayyub, a stage performer is seen playing Lord Shiva and is heard saying, “Azaadi, what the…?” The Maharashtra BJP MLA, Ram Kadam, also filed a complaint against Tandav’s creators, actors and director.
Saif Ali Khan’s home surroundings were secured tightly by a mob of police officials protecting the vicinity.
Now, as per latest news, the makers of the Amazon Prime Video series are to snip off the controversial scene to avoid further trouble. “The team offered to tender an apology, which appeared to satisfy the ministry for the time being. Soon after, the head honchos of the platform had another meeting with the key players of Amazon US, and drafted the official statement in consultation with them and creative stakeholders, including director Ali Abbas Zafar and producer Himanshu Sharma,” the team’s source stated as per a Peeping Moon report.
“They are considering snipping the scene as the last resort. An internal discussion has begun about rechristening the show Dilli, thus avoiding any reference to Lord Shiva,” added the source. This confirms that the show will be renamed to avoid any reference to any religion.