Saif Ali Khan apologizes, 'Tandav' team releases statement after backlash

The cast and crew of 'Tandav' said that it takes cognizance of the concerns expressed by the people and unconditionally apologize if it has unintentionally hurt anybody's sentiments.

Web series poster

New Delhi: Amid the backlash over the recently released web series 'Tandav' featuring Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan, the team on Monday (January 18, 2021) released a statement on the same.

The official statement from the cast and crew said, "We have been closely monitoring viewer reactions to the web series ‘Tandav’ and today during a discussion, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting have informed us regarding a large number of grievances and petitions received on various facets of the web series with serious concerns and apprehensions regarding its content hurting the sentiments of the people."

It added, "The web series ‘Tandav’ is a work of fiction and any resemblance to acts and persons and events is purely coincidental. The cast and crew did not have any intention to offend the sentiments of any individual, caste, community, race, religion or religious beliefs or insult or outrage any institution, political party or person, living or dead." 

"The cast and crew of ‘Tandav’ take cognizance of the concerns expressed by the people and unconditionally apologize if it has unintentionally hurt anybody’s sentiments," the statement read.

Our sincere apologies . pic.twitter.com/Efr9s0kYnl

— ali abbas zafar (@aliabbaszafar) January 18, 2021

The statement comes following the controversy over Tandav as several people including many politicians expressed their anger over the web series. 

Earlier in the day, Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan also spoke on the issue and said that no one has the right to hurt the faith and insult deities.

"The obscenity being served on OTT platforms is not good for our teenagers, so there is a need to closely monitor these platforms. The Central Government is taking suo motu cognizance of this," he said.

हमारी आस्था पर चोट और हमारे देवी-देवताओं का अपमान करने का अधिकार किसी को नहीं है!

ओटीटी प्लैटफॉर्म्स पर परोसी जा रही अश्लीलता हमारे किशोरों के लिए ठीक नहीं है इसलिए इन प्लेटफॉर्म्स पर कड़ी निगरानी रखने की आवश्यकता है। केंद्र सरकार इसको लेकर स्वतः संज्ञान ले रही है। pic.twitter.com/9vNiNTTsmd — Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) January 18, 2021

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Ram Kadam asked for the series to be boycotted till the necessary changes are made.

Kadam listed his demands in a series of tweets and also announced that he would go to the Ghatkopar police station to file a complaint against the show. Using the hashtag #boycottTandav, he demanded that director Ali Abbas Zafar remove a scene in which a joke was cracked on Lord Shiva. He also asked for an apology from actor Zeeshan Ayub and said that the series will be boycotted till the necessary changes have been made.

शिव का मजाक बनाने वाला हिस्सा हटाना होगा। एक्टर जीशान अयूब को माफ़ी मांगना होगा। जब तक जरूरी बदलाव नही होते तब तक तांडव का बहिष्कार किया जाएगा। #BanTandavNow — Ram Kadam - राम कदम (@ramkadam) January 17, 2021

Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut also criticised Tandav and called it 'Hindu phobic, atrocious and objectionable'. Kangana took to her official Twitter account and wrote, "The problem isn't just the Hindu phobic content, it's also creatively poor and deprived, atrocious and objectionable on every level hence deliberately placed controversial scenes. Put them in jail not just for criminal intentions but also for torturing the viewer."

The problem isn’t just the Hindu phobic content, it’s also creatively poor and deprived,atrocious and objectionable on every level hence deliberately placed controversial scenes. Put them in jail not just for criminal intentions but also for torturing the viewer #tandavwebseries https://t.co/bmeaPzgkA5 — Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) January 18, 2021

Earlier, BJP MP Manoj Kotak had also released a statement asking for Tandav to be banned saying that the freedom from censorship that OTT platforms enjoy has led to repeated attacks on Hindu sentiments.

Recently, another similar news had come to the limelight when former Meghalaya Governor and senior BJP leader Tathagata Roy filed a case against Bengali actor Saayoni Ghosh for one of her tweets, which Ghosh claimed that was not posted by her. 

Tathagata Roy took to Twitter and wrote, "@sayani06 You have already been reported to Kolkata Police. The complaint is attached. Meanwhile a person from Guwahati has told me that his religious feelings have been hurt by your meme and he is filing a complaint. I hope Assam Police will take cognizance and ask for remand."

@sayani06 You have already been reported to Kolkata Police. The complaint is attached. Meanwhile a person from Guwahati has told me that his religious feelings have been hurt by your meme and he is filing a complaint. I hope Assam Police will take cognizance and ask for remand. pic.twitter.com/qn94doOPdG — Tathagata Roy (@tathagata2) January 16, 2021

Saayoni Ghosh also released a statement within an hour and said, "I had previously mentioned that this obnoxious tweet from 2015 was uploaded without my knowledge. And the moment I was made aware of that I heavily criticised it and deleted it immediately after informing the public. I never had any intention of hurting the sentiment of my own religion."

pic.twitter.com/6Sas3BrWYO — saayoni ghosh (@sayani06) January 16, 2021

The actress added, " I have always been vocal about my stance on certain issues and have never moved an inch away. However the harassment I ordeal I had to face today is deeply saddening."