A day after Rajya Sabha member and MDMK leaver Vaiko called for the ban of Amazon Prime Video series ‘The Family Man 2’, its makers have requested people not to jump to conclusions about the content of the show.
Its second season trailer, released on May 19, enraged a section of social media users who felt that the show portrayed Tamilians in a negative light. They have denounced the series as ‘anti-Tamil’.
“Some assumptions and impressions have been made based on just a couple of shots in the trailer. Many of our lead cast members and 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,” wrote directors Raj & DK in a joint statement. This statement has also been shared by the show’s lead actor Manoj Bajpayee. The makers urged everyone to have faith in their perspective.
“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 will appreciate it once you watch it,” they added.
Over the last few days, calls for a ban of ‘The Family Man 2’ have intensified on social media. The demands gained more traction when politician Vaiko wrote to the Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar urging him to ban the show.
In his letter, Vaiko claimed the trailer portrays Tamilians as extremists. He also warned Javadekar that the civilians in his South Indian state of Tamil Nadu will react badly if the show’s release isn’t stalled.
Apart from Vaiko, Tamil Nadu’s Information Technology Minister T Mano Thangaraj also wrote a letter to Javadekar demanding them to stop the release of the show which he felt was ‘malicious’.
In the trailer we see Srikant Tiwari (Bajpayee) up against the ‘new face of danger’, a fictional extremist leader played by Samantha Akkineni. Hashtags such as #ShameOnYouSamantha and #FamilyMan2_against_Tamils began trending on Twitter following its launch. Many felt that Akkineni’s character is being branded as a terrorist and that the Tamil community is portrayed negatively. Akkineni’s character seems to be fighting for an independent state for Ethnic Tamils, a spillover of the 1983 conflict between Sri Lankan government forces and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
It’s not the first time that Amazon Prime Video has faced backlash over their shows. Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan’s political saga ‘Tandav’, directed by Ali 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.
