Watch: TN Govt Seeks Ban on The Family Man 2; Samantha on Her Role

Raj and DK, the creators of The Family Man 2, have reacted to the controversy around the trailer.

Samantha Akkineni on her role in The Family Man. Creators Raj and DK have reacted to the controversy.

(Photos: The Quint / Twitter)

Days after the trailer of The Family Man 2 dropped online, the show is facing protests from some quarters. The Tamil Nadu government has asked the Centre to ban the show. Tamil Nadu's IT Minister T Mano Thangaraj in letter said that the series "not only hurt the sentiments of Eelam Tamils but also the feelings of the people of Tamil Nadu".
Naam Tamilar Katchi’s (NTK) leader Seeman called for a ban on the series. He alleges that the show portrays the Sri Lankan LTTE as a terrorist group and Tamils as violent people. Seeman said that the trailer depicts an Eelam woman wearing LTTE uniform and connects her revolutionary group with a Pakistan based ISI militant group.

Rajya Sabha member and MDMK leader Vaiko has also written a letter to the Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar to stop the broadcast of the show, alleging it shows Tamilians in a negative light.

The Family Man 2 featuring Manoj Bajpayee, Samantha Akkineni, Priyamani and Sharib Hashmi is scheduled to release on 4 June. The show was supposed to release in February 2021, but was reportedly postponed after the controversy over Amazon Prime Video's series Tandav. While reports suggested that the delay was because The Family Man 2 was re-edited to avoid controversies, there is no official confirmation on this.

Samantha Akkineni, who reportedly plays a crucial in the series, says that she did not see herself playing the ‘antagonist’ in the series. She adds that she believed in her character Raji’s thoughts and belief systems and that her approach to the role came from a place of honesty to her character’s belief systems and her truth.

While the government is yet to react to the protests against The Family Man 2 trailer,  it's unfair that some groups are protesting against the series without even watching it. After the Tandav controversy earlier this year, Prime Video will be looking to avoid any unnecessary trouble over their upcoming content.