‘Family Man 2’ controversy: Indian political calls for ban on show
Rajya Sabha member and MDMK leader Vaiko slams Amazon Prime Video series in letter
Amazon Prime Video series ‘The Family Man 2’ has faced calls for boycott since the trailer for its second season was released on May 19. Now, the show has hit another hurdle.
Rajya Sabha member and MDMK leader Vaiko has urged the Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar to stop the release of the spy thriller, due out on June 4, saying that it portrays Tamilians in a negative light.
The series stars Bollywood actor Manoj Bajpayee as a middle-class man Srikant Tiwari who moonlights as an agent for a special cell of the National Investigation Agency. The new season takes him to Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and sees him go head-to-head with South Indian actress Samantha Akkineni’s character — a fictional Tamil extremist leader that has raised the ire of the public.
In his letter, Vaiko has decried the portrayal of “Tamilians as terrorists.”
“Moreover, the sacrifices made by Tamil Eelam warriors were also wrongly shown as terrorist act. Tamil speaking actress Samnadha [Samantha Akkineni] was shown as a terrorist and having connection with Pakistani terrorist,” Vaiko wrote, referring to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam group that attempted to form an independent state in Sri Lanka.
Vaiko said the character that Akkineni plays was offensive to the Tamil community.
“These descriptions have hurt the sentiments of Tamil people and Tamil culture,” he wrote. “The people of Tamil Nadu are raising serious objections over such act and are protesting against [‘The Family Man 2’].”
The release of the show, directed by filmmakers Raj and DK, was previously postponed due to another controversy with an Amazon Prime Video series.
‘Tandav’, a political thriller starring Saif Ali Khan and created by Ali Abbas Zafar, was accused of hurting religious sentiments. Social media users called for a boycott of the show and police cases were filed against the makers.