Action on complaint against 'Tandav' to be as per law: Anil Deshmukh

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Police have received a complaint about controversial web series "Tandav" and formal action will taken in the case as per law, state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said on Wednesday.

Talking to reporters here, Deshmukh also demanded the Centre to come up with a law to regulate content on the over the top (OTT) platforms.

After several FIRs were filed in some states against the Amazon Prime Video's political drama "Tandav" for alleged inappropriate depiction of Hindu deities and calls for its ban, its makers on Tuesday agreed to implement changes to the controversial web series.


Deshmukh said, "We have received a complaint. We will register an FIR and take action formally."

He did not specify who has lodged the complaint.

Deshmukh also said the Centre should come up with a law to regulate content on the OTT platforms to ensure no "caste-based discrimination or communal divide" is caused due to any content available there.

The minister downplayed questions about the Uttar Pradesh Police visiting Mumbai in connection with an FIR against the web series.

He said the Maharashtra Police personnel also go outside the state to conduct probes.

"They (UP police) had informed us that an FIR has been registered there and they will be coming here for an investigation," he added.

In Uttar Pradesh, three FIRs have been lodged against the makers and artists of "Tandav" -- in Lucknow, Greater Noida and Shahjahanpur.

The complainants have alleged inappropriate depiction of UP Police personnel, Hindu deities, and adverse portrayal of a character playing prime minister in the political drama.

Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra on Tuesday condemned the way "Tandav" actor Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub, Saif Ali Khan Khan and its director Ali Abbas Zafar "reacted to our religion and hurt sentiments".

"The Madhya Pradesh government will register a case in this regard," he said in Bhopal.

MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also reacted to the controversy, saying "no one has the right to hurt our faith and insult our deities."

He said "obscenity being served on OTT platforms is not good for our teenagers" and called for close monitoring of these platforms.

Earlier, BJP MP Manoj Kotak from Mumbai North-East and Madhya Pradesh minister Vishvas Sarang were among the politicians who appealed to the Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar to ban the series.

BJP MLA from Mumbai Ram Kadam recently approached the Ghatkopar police here against the web series, alleging that it ridicules Hindu deities.

The cast and crew of Amazon Prime Video's glossy political show "Tandav" on Tuesday said they had decided to implement changes to "address concerns".

In their second apology statement in as many days, the show's team also thanked the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for its "guidance & support" in the matter.

"Tandav", a nine-episode political thriller starring Bollywood A-listers Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia and Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub, started streaming last week.