Cases filed against “Tandav” for “hurting religious sentiments” with calls for ban growing louder (File)
Mumbai:
The Uttar Pradesh (UP) Police, in Mumbai for last three days, recorded statements of makers of Amazon web series “Tandav” in a case of “hurting religious sentiments” filed against them in state capital Lucknow on January 17.
The four-member UP Police team questioned Ali Abbas Zafar, the director of Saif Ali Khan-Dimple Kapadia starrer “Tandav” on Friday, besides its writer Gaurav Solanki and producer Himanshu Mehra, sources said.
They were summoned a day after the UP police pasted a notice outside Mr Abbas’ house when they did not find him there.
The police team, which is expected to return to Uttar Pradesh soon, could not question officials of OTT platform Amazon since they work from home, UP cop Anil Kumar Singh told NDTV.
All three questioned today, and a senior office of OTT platform Amazon have been granted three weeks transit anticipatory bail by the Bombay High Court.
The transit bail was sought so they can “approach the appropriate court” for pre-arrest bail, their lawyer Aniket Ujjwal Nikam had told NDTV.
Heated politics continues over “Tandav” — released last Friday — even after the makers issued an apology saying it is a “work of fiction” and followed it up with changes in two scenes “to address concerns”.
At least three cases have been filed in three states, including UP, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra for “hurting religious sentiments”, “promoting religious enmity” and “defiling a place of worship”. The cases were filed after criticism on social media leading to calls for ban.
The Maharashtra government has said it will investigate the matter but act “according to the law”.
“Since it is an OTT film, the Central government must be bringing in laws so that social fault lines are not created,” Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had said after the UP police team reached Mumbai day after key aide and media advisor to UP chief minister warned of arrests on Twitter.
The tweet also tagged Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray saying “hope you will not come to their rescue”.
While BJP leaders have said “tandav (dance of destruction) over Tandav” will not stop till the accused are arrested, their allies and those in opposition have questioned the reaction.
KC Tyagi, the principal general secretary of JD(U) (BJP’s ally in Bihar), said politicians and officials cannot decide the content of any film, and said Amitabh Bachchan and dozens of film actors have been “seen on screen challenging Lord Shiva in their films.
In UP, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the BJP just wants to deflect attention from the farmers’ protest around Delhi.