Makers Chop Two Scenes From Tandav After Govt Intervention

After a widespread social media outrage and a flurry of FIRs, the makers of Prime Video's Tandav have snipped two scenes from the web-series. The move came after a couple of FIRs were filed against the director Ali Abbas Zafar, producer Himanshu Krishna Mehra, writer Gaurav Solanki, and Amazon Prime content head Aparna Purohit, and a ban from the I&B ministry was sought in the series, alleging that it hurt "religious sentiments".

With two of its scenes now being chopped, Tandav has become the first content on the OTT platform to do so following direct intervention from the government.

This also marks the first intervention by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry since news on digital platforms and content on OTT platforms came under its ambit on November 11, 2020. Before this, the OTT platforms weren't guarded by any government ministry. They were asked by the government to develop a self-regulatory code.

The I&B ministry summoned the makers of Tandav for an explanation before the first FIR against the series was filed at Lucknow. The FIR was against the two scenes in the show and the same has been removed. Following the first FIR in Lucknow, several other FIRs were lodged in different parts of the country. 

Many social media users too had criticised the show for hurting religious sentiments and propagating "hurtful" ideology. Hashtags against the series trended for days after its release on 15 January 2021.

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted a three-week temporary pre-arrest bail to Tandav makers, who had submitted that the content under scanner would be removed and they don't want any further controversy.

Tandav, directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, premiered on Prime Video on January 15. The show stars Saif Ali Khan and Dimple Kapadia in lead roles, along with Sunil Grover, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Kritika Kamra, Sarah Jane Dias, Kritika Avasthi and Bhavna Chaudhary. Check out its trailer here.