'Family Man 2', 'Tandav', 'Sacred Games': Web-series that sparked controversies

The webspace has provided filmmakers freedom as far as the nature of the content is concerned. However, that freedom has also ruffled a few feathers. Popular series like, ‘Family Man 2’, ‘Sacred Games’, ‘Aashram’ and many others have either offended religious sentiments, community values, or political agendas along the way. Let's take a look at web series that sparked controversies:

While in the first season the makers showcased the lack of trust between law enforcement agencies and the people in Kashmir, in the second season, they picked up a poignant issue of the Eelam Tamils. Samantha Akkineni, who essayed the role of Raji, a rebel, has an ulterior motive against the government and Manoj Bajpayee’s character is out to stop her from leading the anti-establishment force. Rajya Sabha member and MDMK leader Vaiko wrote a letter to the Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar to stop the broadcast of the show. He alleged it shows Tamilians in a negative light. However, despite all the controversies, the series and Samantha’s performance received a positive response from the audience.

Ali Abbas Zafar’s ‘Tandav’ sparked controversy after the release of the first episode itself. In the first episode, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub is seen performing a college play where he is seen wearing a pantsuit, holding a 'damroo' and saying "What the F***." The act was taken as an insult to the Hindu deity Shiva. People took to Twitter to demand a ban on the series. Soon after the backlash, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry issued a notice to the OTT platform, seeking its response to the complaints against the web series. Ali Abbas Zafar then issued an apology on behalf of the cast and crew saying they did not intend to offend anyone or insult any religion and political party.

Sacred Games faced tons of controversies in its two seasons. While the first part landed into controversy after some dialogues referring to political party leaders, the second one got embroiled in a lot of legal trouble. A BJP leader filed a complaint against director Anurag Kashyap for hurting the sentiments of the Sikh community. Apart from him, MLA Manjinder S Sirsa also took to social media to object to a scene from the show where Saif Ali Khan’s character was shown throwing away the Kada in the sea and called it disrespectful and insulting.

Anushka Sharma’s production venture, ‘Pataal Lok’ was slammed for using insulting language against the Nepali community. Arunachal Pradesh Gorkha Youth Association’s (AAPGYA) Namsai unit president and NHRC activist Bikash Bhattarai reportedly filed a complaint against Anushka Sharma for a casteist slander in the crime fiction series that is an insult to the Nepali-speaking community. They also issued a statement that read, ‘We strongly condemn in toughest terms and seek immediate removal. We cannot consume community content stereotyping and accept racist attacks in the name of creative freedom.’

Prakash Jha’s popular web series ‘Aashram’ received positive reviews from the audience and critics. But at the same time, it also landed into controversy for hurting the religious sentiments of the people by depicting Hindu saints. A fake notice was also sent to showcase that the Rajput group Karni Sena had objected to the show. However, Karni Sena clarified on Twitter that they are not related to the forged notice and there will be an inquiry against those misusing the name of Karni Sena.

Deepa Mehta’s ‘Leila’ revolved around Huma Qureshi’s character Shalini, a Hindu woman who was punished in a Labour camp for marrying a Muslim man. The show follows her search for her missing daughter. The trailer received a lot of hate comments with netizens calling it anti-Hindu. Many political parties also demanded the ban of this show. People across various social media platforms slammed the OTT platform for continuing to air stories with anti-Hindu sentiment. They also cited examples of their earlier shows like ‘Sacred Games’ and ‘Ghoul’. Many also reportedly spotted the use of seemingly Hindu imagery in ‘Leila.’