A Muslim boy and a Hindu girl kiss in The Suitable Boy, the name of a dog in Pataal Lok, a Pakistani actor who starred in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil… Tandav from Amazon Prime Video is the latest in a long line of films and in the Internet series that got into trouble for one reason or another.
Tandav, a nine-episode political thriller starring Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia and Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub, started streaming last week and is fraught with issues with loud calls to boycott and an FIR against its makers in Lucknow. At the center of the series is a scene with Zeeshan in the role of the student Shiva, who plays the Hindu god Mahadev in a theater production.
Here are some other showbiz offers that have faced calls for boycotts in recent years:
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
The romantic drama, directed by Karan Johar, was threatened by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) for starring Pakistani actor Fawad Khan. The party said Pakistani artists were not allowed to work in India after the Uri terrorist attack. Johar had to apologize and promise that he would not “deal” with talent from Pakistan for the smooth release of the film in October 2016. The filmmaker, one of the most powerful in Bollywood, previously had problems using “Bombay” instead of “Mumbai”. in a scene in Wakeup Sid.
Padmaavat
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film sparked massive political controversy prior to its release. The fringe group Karni Sena called for the film to be banned and accused Padmavati of falsifying historical facts. Bhansali’s film in Kolhapur was set on fire and the director was mistreated while filming in Jaipur. At one point, actress Deepika Padukone found herself exposed to a threat to her life when she was turned on her head with a bounty after rumors that the film portrayed a love scene between Padmavati and Allauddin Khilji. The director went to great lengths to deny the rumor. The film was also changed from Padmavati to Padmaavat and released in January 2018.
Bhansali also had problems with his film Ramleela and had to change the name to Goliyon ki Rasleela Ram-Leela.
Chhapaak
The Deepika Padukone star, a true story of an acid attack survivor, faced protests and called for a boycott on social media for the actor visiting the Jawaharlal Nehru campus to show solidarity with the students after watching the movie from masked thugs were brutally attacked. Release on January 10, 2020. Padukone, who did not speak at the protest, was labeled “anti-national”. There was further controversy with many of the accused filmmakers, Meghna Gulzar, of changing the perpetrator’s name from Muslim to Hindu, which it did not.
A suitable boy
The Mira Nair-directed web series based on Vikram Seth’s novel and streamed on Netflix on October 23, 2020 brought anger to several politicians at a scene in which a Muslim boy kissed a Hindu girl in the background of a temple. The show also resulted in a police complaint against Netflix India officials by Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha’s National Secretary Gaurav Tiwari at the MP. Interior Minister Narottam Mishra had asked the state police to check whether the scenes were filmed in a temple, as this hurt the feelings of a certain community.
Paatal locomotive
Like Tandav, the program on Amazon Prime Video also dealt with the connection between media, politics and the police. The Anushka Sharma-produced show, which aired in Delhi from May 15, 2020, sparked controversy when BJP MLA Nandkishor Gurjar filed a complaint for allegedly using his photo on the series without his permission. In addition, the “Ban Paatal Lok” hashtag has been used on social media for its portrayal of community issues, beef lynching, and other issues. There were also objections to a dog named “Savitri”.
Leila
Deepa Mehta’s 2019 Netflix show is based on a novel by Prayaag Akbar. Starring Huma Qureshi, it has been labeled “anti-Hindu” to portray the dystopian future of Aryavarta in which purity of blood is enforced. The protagonist of the series is looking for her daughter who was taken from her as a child of an interfaith marriage.
Holy games
Sacred Games, one of the first successful locally produced series on Netflix in 2018 and 2019, caused a lot of controversy over the two seasons. A member of the Congress Party filed an FIR against the show for allegedly insulting former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
The second season was criticized for violating the religious sentiments of the Sikhs. BJP leader Tajinder Pal Bagga filed an FIR against director Anurag Kashyap for allegedly hurting the feelings of Sikhs, and Akali Dals Manjinder Singh Sirsa had also started the show. Sacred Games has also been criticized as anti-Hindu for portraying a character named Guruji, a spiritual leader portrayed as a man with questionable morals and ideology.
Lipstick under my burkha
The film, directed by Alankrita Shrivastava, was initially refused to release in India in 2017 after the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) rejected a certificate protesting against the depiction of sex scenes and abusive language. The film was released in July 2017.
