Censorship Tandav Is A Serial Killer

Tandav, Hindu scriptures tell us, is the cosmic dance of destruction, performed by the gods themselves to restore balance in the universe. In the human world, Tandav is but a web series, though it has left a trail of hurt sentiments and bruised egos across India, not to speak of a group of chastened film-makers and actors. Within days of its premiere on Amazon Prime Video, the web series ran into a storm of protests that forced its makers to “voluntarily” snip at least two scenes from the political thriller starring Bollywood hero Saif Ali Khan and issue a public apology for “unintentionally hurting sentiments” after the reported intervention of the information and broadcasting ministry. “The cast and crew of Tandav have made the decision to implement changes to the web series to address the concerns raised towards the same...We once again apologise if the series has unintentionally hurt anybody’s sentiments,” the Tandav team said in a statement. “We did not intend to hurt or 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.”

And yet, there is no end to their problems. On last count, as many as seven FIRs have been lodged across the country against Tandav’s cast and crew, who had to move the Supreme Court, seeking not only protection from arrest but also pleading to club all the cases and shift them to a court in Mumbai.  But there was no interim relief from the apex court on January 27. However, Tandav is not the only web show in recent times which has “offended” many people, mostly for hurting religious sentiments. From a seemingly innocuous kissing scene against the backdrop of a temple in Mira Nair’s A Suitable Boy to the alleged denigration of Hindu godmen in Prakash Jha’s Aashram, several web shows on OTT platforms have courted controversies in recent times. But none of them ever chose to, or forced to, edit scenes like the makers of Tandav.   

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The row is over two of Tandav’s scenes, which have “hurt” a section of viewers. In one scene, actor Zeeshan Ayyub, playing Hindu god Mahadev, is shown having a conversation with the mythological sage Narad Muni, in a college play, where he uses an “inappropriate” word. The second scene is a conversation dep­icting the character of a prime minister (played by Tigmanshu Dhulia), who insults a Dalit leader enacted by Anup Soni.  

The controversy has reopened the debate over the relative freedom enj­oyed by the over-the-top (OTT) platforms which have seen an exponential growth since the Covid-induced lockdown forced people indoors. It has also raised many questions: Is the glasnost that had brought cheers to content creators with the advent of OTT platforms not so long ago is over even before it could usher in the long-delayed winds of change in the Indian entertainment industry? Is the government close to regulating the digital media with a comprehensive framework of guidelines in the near future that will rob content makers of the liberty which they have hitherto enj­oyed? Will it be an inf­ringement on the creative freedom and a regressive step for the entertainment industry at large in today’s times?  

A BJP leader, Ram Kadam, filed a police complaint in Mumbai alleging that Tandav “hurts Hindu religious sentiments”. Another BJP leader Manoj Kotak wrote a letter to Union minister Prakash Javadekar, urging him to ban the web show “for mocking Hindu gods and disrespecting Hindu religious sentiments”. Taking cognisance of the complaints galore, the I&B ministry is learnt to have summoned its makers before the latter issued apologies and deleted the scenes.

Nonetheless, the ministry was seized with the matter pertaining to allegedly offensive contents shown on various OTT shows long before the Tandav row erupted. In November last, the Centre transferred the jurisdiction over OTT platforms from the ministry of electronics and information technology to the ministry of information and broadcasting. It was widely seen as a precursor to the government’s bid to regulate digital media, including OTT platforms. Until now, there has been no regulatory body or law for OTT, such as the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) or The Cable Television Networks Regulation Act, which serve as a watchdog for movies and TV channels respectively. However, with a surfeit of scenes with graphic nudity, excessive violence and offensive remarks in recent web shows, content-makers have often been accused of taking undue advantage of the unrestricted freedom to grab eyeballs, without adhering to any kind of self-regulation. It has also fuelled demands in various quarters for ensuring some kind of self-regulation for the OTT platforms as well. There is, of course, a large section of artistes and film-makers who consider it to be an eminently avoidable step, asserting that it should be left entirely to the discretion of the viewers to choose what or what not to see.  

As of now, there are about 40 OTT platforms with about 20 crore users. It is already an industry worth Rs 1,000 crore at the moment, having grown fast in recent months. The year 2020 witnessed a perceptible shift in the way entertainment content is consumed in the country, with binge-watching becoming the buzz words all over. As the multiplexes and single-screen theatres faced a crisis during the pandemic, the OTT emerged as the most popular mode of entertainment. Hardly surprising then, it is drawing all attention now for its immense reach.  But the controversies like Tandav have raised the question again of whether the booming industry should be left to itself to regulate its content or there should be a statutory watchdog in place to keep a hawk’s eye on its contents? The jury is still out.

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Tandav

The latest to kick up a storm, Saif Ali Khan-starrer Tandav is about machinations in Indian politics, but it has run into trouble for purportedly hurting the religious and community sentiments. The makers have apologised and even edited the controversial scenes out of the Amazon Prime Video’s web show but a Karni Sena leader remains offended enough to announce a cash reward of Rs 1 crore if anybody chops off the tongues of its makers.

Mirzapur

This gripping crime saga set in eastern UP has been a big hit in both seasons but it is also facing court cases for allegedly besmirching the image of the eastern UP town. A team of UP police reached Mumbai to question the makers of the Amazon Prime Video show after an FIR was lodged against its makers. A petitioner told the SC that the town has been shown to be a veritable den of terrorism and illegal activities.

Sacred Games

Anurag Kashyap’s Sacred Games has been pilloried for excessive violence and graphic nudity. The Netflix web show featuring Saif Ali Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui also had to deal with police cases, for allegedly hurting the sentiments of the Sikh community intentionally. A character is shown throwing away his kadaa into the sea.

Leila

Deepa Mehta’s dystopian drama starring Huma Qureshi in the lead stoked a lot of controversies for allegedly hurting religious sentiments, with a demand to ban the streaming of the Netflix original for allegedly spreading “Hinduphobia”.

Hasmukh

The makers of Netflix’s original dark comedy starring Vir Das and Ranvir Shorey were accused of maligning the reputation of lawyers. The Delhi high court sought replies from the makers of the web series after a case was filed seeking interim stay on the streaming of the show.

A Suitable Boy

A Mira Nair movie based on Vikram Seth’s best-selling novel, A Suitable Boy raised the hackles of many soon after the Netflix series started streaming last year. Police complaints were filed over a kissing scene picturised against the backdrop of a temple in Madhya Pradesh. Even the state government took offence to the scene.

Aashram

Known for hard-hitting films like Damul, Mrityudand, Apaharan and Rajneeti, Prakash Jha’s foray into the digital space also had his share of controversies. His Bobby Deol-starrer on MX Player has been charged with hurting religious sentiments by showing Hindu sadhus in a poor light. Among other things, a pet­ition filed in a court says that it has been titled Ashram just to denigrate Hindu religion.

Paatal Lok

An Anushka Sharma production, Paatal Lok remains one of the best shows in recent times but it has also been accused of hurting religious sentiments. A police complaint was filed for tarnishing the image of the Sikhs through a rape scene, which shows a Sikh man raping a woman while another Sikh man looks on helplessly. The Amazon show was flayed for denigrating the Gorkhas through a “regressive and racist portrayal”.