Digital Media
Chennai, May 25, 2021: The controversy around Amazon Prime Video's upcoming web series, The Family Man 2, is getting more intense as the Tamil Nadu government has written a letter to the Information and Broadcast Minister Prakash Javadekar seeking a ban on the show for 'depicts the Eelam Tamils in a highly objectionable manner'. ##
"I would like to bring to your notice about the condemnable, inappropriate, and malicious contents of The Family Man 2 serial in Hindi, which depicts the Eelam Tamils in a highly objectionable manner. The trailer of the above said serial which was released in the social media network is aimed at discrediting and distorting the historical struggle of Eelam Tamils in Sri Lanka", read a section of the letter.##
According to the trailer launched recently, South Indian actress Samantha Akkineni, who makes her digital debut with this series, can be seen portraying a character named Raji. But the controversial part is that she is a member of a rebel group called Tamil rebels, who joined hands with a dangerous terrorist organization, ISIS, to unleash an attack on India. ##
Objecting to Samantha's role, the state government suggested that casting Samantha Akkineni as a terrorist in "the serial is directly an attack on the pride of Tamils living around the world and no one will tolerate this kind of motivated and mischievous campaign", the letter read.##
TN Govt writes to Centre to stop the release of the web series #TheFamilyManSeason2 on Amazon Prime. IT Minister, in his letter says, the web series, if broadcast would be prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony in the State. pic.twitter.com/opdVzbQJdq— D Suresh Kumar (@dsureshkumar) May 24, 2021 ##
Urging the broadcast ministry to take cognizance of the matter, the letter from the government concluded saying that, "In the circumstances, I request you to take immediate action either to stop or ban the release of The Family Man 2 in OTT, Amazon Prime not only in Tamil Nadu but also across the country". ##
Meanwhile, the directors of the show, Raj & DK have responded to the calls for banning the show. According to them, assumptions have been made based on a few shots in the trailer and urged people to wait for the show to premiere, which is scheduled for June 4 in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu languages. ##
"Some assumptions and impressions have been made based on just a couple of shots in the trailer. Many of our lead cast members, as well as key members of the creative & writing team, are Tamilians. We are very cognizant of the sentiments of the Tamil people and Tamil culture and have nothing but the utmost love and respect towards our Tamil people", Raj & DK said in the statement. ##
"We have put in years of hard work into this show, and we have taken great pains to bring to our audiences a sensitive, balanced, and riveting story – much like we did in Season 1 of the show. We request everyone to wait and watch the show when it releases. We know you'll appreciate it once you watch it". ##
Manoj Bajpayee, who is reprising his role of Srikant Tiwari as a secret NIA agent in the show, also posted Raj & DK's statement on Instagram. ##
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Manoj Bajpayee (@bajpayee.manoj) ##
Stay tuned...
