‘Tandav’ controversy: Amazon series faces calls for ban in India

‘Tandav’ controversy: Amazon series faces calls for ban in India

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Authorities are investigating allegations that Amazon’s new Prime Video series “Tandav” contains religiously insensitive content. Several Indian politicians say they have complained to the police or regulator about the company and the creators of the program.

The title is a political drama compared to the hit Netflix (NFLX) series “House of Cards.” Launched last Friday on Amazon’s streaming service, it boasts some of Bollywood’s biggest names, including director Ali Abbas Zafar and actor Saif Ali Khan.

The program follows a power-hungry politician who is willing to do anything to become the country’s prime minister. It is loosely based on true political controversies that erupted across the country as Hindu nationalism grew.

However, the depiction of the Hindu gods by the show upset local legislators. Manoj Kotak, a Mumbai MP, said Sunday on Twitter that he wrote to the country’s Minister of Information and Broadcasting asking him to ‘ban’ [the] controversial web series. ”

Kotak, who is a member of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said the creators of the program apparently “deliberately mocked Hindu gods.”

CNN Business has asked for comments from both Amazon and Zafar, the director of the series, but has not yet received a response.

Authorities intervene

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, which has announced an intention to start regulating streaming services, said Monday that it has reached out to executives at Amazon about the program.

“There will be a discussion about this,” a spokesman for CNN Business said.

The series prompted other lawmakers to go to the police. Ram Kadam, another BJP leader and local lawmaker in the state of Maharashtra, said he had lodged a complaint with Mumbai police over the weekend, accusing Amazon of violating “religious sentiments” and “damaging material”. ‘publish.

Local police confirmed that they had received Kadam’s complaint but had not yet launched an investigation.

Police on Sunday launched a separate investigation into the state of Uttar Pradesh against Zafar, as well as Aparna Purohit, Amazon’s head of India’s original Prime Video content, according to a media consultant for the Prime Minister.
The series has also been hit by negative reviews on Amazon, claiming that the program promotes a ‘Hindu-phobic agenda’ or is ‘anti-Hindu’.

A critical market

India is a major market for Amazon. This month, a company manager called the country ‘one of the most exciting power markets in the world’.

During the pandemic, the firm “doubled our investment in movies during this period,” Gaurav Gandhi, director and general manager of Amazon Prime Video in India, told Deadline in a recent interview.

Original content is key to the strategy, with more than 80 titles in production or development, Purohit said at the outlet.

This is not the first time that Amazon has run into hot water in India.

The e-commerce and technology giant had to fetch products from its website that offend customers, such as a doormat displaying the Indian flag, or a skateboard depicting an image of the Hindu god Ganesha. (Critics said the sale of such goods was disrespectful because it was accompanied by the placing of feet on reverent or religious symbols.)
The “Tandav” incident is also reminiscent of a recent encounter with Netflix (NFLX) in India. Last year, the flowing giant in the country faced boycott calls over a now infamous kissing scene in one of its shows.

The exchange, which takes place in the series ‘A Suitable Boy’, depicts a young Hindu woman being kissed by a Muslim man at a Hindu temple. The program has angered some viewers in India for a police complaint against Netflix executives.

Netflix declined to comment Monday on the current status of the complaint. A police officer told CNN Business the investigation is continuing.

Netflix faces boycott calls in India over 'suitable boy' scene
The news comes at a sensitive time for streaming services in the country. Last fall, the Indian government announced new rules for digital media, saying that online streaming platforms will be regulated by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

This could force companies like Amazon and Netflix to follow the same restrictions as traditional media, such as rules to show violence or nudity.

CNN’s Vedika Sud contributed to this report.

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