At least two scenes have been cut from controversial web series Tandav which faces multiple criminal complaints and FIRs for allegedly hurting religious sentiments, reports PTI.
Following backlash, the show's director Ali Abbas Zafar on Tuesday, 19 January, issued a statement saying they would make changes "to address the concerns."
A scene of a play and a conversation between two key characters have been cut from 'Tanashah', the first episode of the nine-part Amazon Prime Video web series.
A scene with Zeeshan Ayyub as college student Shiva playing the Hindu deity Mahadeva in a theatre production has been snipped. Viewers now see Zeeshan's entry on stage as Mahadev amid cheers from the audience and the scene then abruptly shifts to police entering the campus to arrest a student.
A conversation depicting prime minister Devki Nandan Singh, played by Tigmanshu Dhulia, insulting Dalit leader Kailash Kumar, played by Anup Soni, had also been edited. A dialogue referencing caste between Soni’s character and Sandhya Mridul’s Sandhya has been shortened as well.
Tandav, which features Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub in lead roles, has faced incessant backlash after BJP leaders called for a ban alleging the show mocked Shiva and hurt the sentiments of Hindus. Several complaints have been filed seeking action against the show, including criminal complaints before courts in Delhi and Bihar and FIRs in Lucknow's Hazratganj Kotwali and Madhya Pradesh.
A four-member team of the Uttar Pradesh Police, where three FIRs have been filed, arrived in Mumbai on the morning of 20 January to conduct a probe into a case registered in Lucknow.
Ali Abbas Zafar on 18 January issued a statement of apology saying that the that the series was fictional and that neither the cast nor the crew had intended to offend anyone.
(With inputs from PTI)
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