FIR against 'Tandav' makers, cast in Mumbai based on BJP MLA's complaint

The show allegedly hurt religious sentiments

Mumbai Police on Wednesday registered an FIR against the makers and cast of Amazon Prime's controversial web series "Tandav", based on a complaint lodged by a BJP MLA in the city, an official said.

The case was registered by the Ghatkopar police against the actors of the web series, including Saif Ali Khan and Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub, its director Ali Abbas Zafar, producer Himanshu Mehra, writer Gaurav Solanki, head of Amazon's India head of original content Aparna Purohit, Amazon India's head Amit Agarwal, the official said.

"Tandav", which also features actors Dimple Kapadia, Sunil Grover, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Dino Morea, Kumud Mishra, Gauhar Khan and Kritika Kamra, premiered on the streaming platform last Friday.

"BJP's Ghatkopar MLA Ram Kadam had earlier submitted a written complaint against the web series alleging that it hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus. He also took out a morcha at Amazon's web head office in BKC," the police official said.

The case was registered under various IPC sections, including 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion), 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), he said.

Senior police officials in Mumbai confirmed that the case was registered on the basis of complaint filed by Kadam.

Taking cognisance of the complaints regarding the web series, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Sunday sought an explanation from the Amazon Prime Video on the issue.

The government recently brought OTT platforms, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ Hotstar, besides other online news and current affairs content, under the ambit of the I&B ministry, giving it powers to regulate policies and rules for the digital space.

In their second apology statement in as many days, the cast and crew of "Tandav" on Tuesday said they had decided to implement changes to "address concerns".