On 18 January, BJP leader Kapil Mishra sent a legal notice to Amazon Prime Video demanding that their original show Tandav be removed from their platform immediately. Mishra has also reportedly said that if the OTT platform fails to meet his demands, criminal proceedings will be initiated against them.
This is not the first time that an OTT show has been targeted for the contents of its plot. Here are some Indian shows that irked politicians, religious leaders and others.
'Sacred Games'
The Netflix series Sacred Games was synonymous with controversy. A first-of-its-kind series, it showed violence, abusive language, and a cast of well-known Bollywood stars that the Indian audiences had never seen in a web series before. Based on a 2006 best-selling novel by Vikram Chandra, Sacred Games followed a Mumbai police officer, played by Saif Ali Khan, who is investigating a criminal gang kingpin, played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui.
Rajeev Kumar Sinha, a Congress party politician lodged a police complaint against Netflix and actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui over two particularly contentious scenes in Sacred Games that allegedly insult former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The petitions called for Netflix, the programme-makers, as well as Siddiqui to be taken to court. Another Congress politician filed a PIL that said the show “incorrectly depicts historical events of the country like Bofors case, Shah Bano case, Babri Masjid case and communal riots”.
Rahul Gandhi spoke out on social media saying he championed freedom of speech. He wrote. “BJP/RSS believe the freedom of expression must be policed & controlled. I believe this freedom is a fundamental democratic right. My father lived and died in the service of India. The views of a character on a fictional web series can never change that. #SacredGames.”
The court looked at the PIL and said a person is entitled to express his views, which may be right or wrong, and asked the petitioner to satisfy it on how the court could interject. It also asked how the actors could be held liable for enacting their characters.
The second season of Sacred Games also found itself in trouble. Delhi BJP spokesperson Tajinder Bagga filed a police complaint against Anurag Kashyap for allegedly "hurting Sikh sentiments by adding a scene which disrespects Sikh religious symbol kada". The scene showed actor Saif Ali Khan, whose character is a Sikh, take off his kada and throw it in the sea.
The BJP leader sought action against Anurag Kashyap under section 295-A (damaging sacred object), 153, 153-A (attack on religion), 504 (provocation to break peace) and 505 (spreading rumours) IPC and Information Technology Act.
'Leila'
Based on Prayaag Akbar’s 2017 English novel of the same name, Leila on Netflix was written for the screen by Urmi Juvekar with Suhani Kanwar and Patrick Graham. It revolves around Shalini Rizwan Chowdhury, an upper-caste Hindu who married Rizwan, a Muslim, before segregation was rigidly enforced. Leila is about Shalini’s search for her daughter while being forced to live in humiliating conditions for all women who married outside their community.
A member of the Shiv Sena’s IT cell lodged a police complaint against Netflix for allegedly “defaming the country” and portraying “an incorrect picture” of India through the show. He alleged that shows like Sacred Games, Leila, Ghoul and the comedy talk show Patriot Act hosted by Hasan Minhaj were streamed on Netflix India with “the intention to defame the country on a global level”. Accusing the online streaming service of “deep-rooted Hinduphobia”, Solanki claimed that the platform was “portraying the nation in a bad light” and urged the police to “take necessary legal action” against Netflix for “hurting Hindu sentiments”.
“I urge the authorities to look into all of the above-mentioned content and take the necessary steps from summoning their team to cancelling their licenses as deemed fit. One cannot allow an incorrect generalisation based on bogus rhetoric trying to defame a religious minority, that is, Hindu in countries other than India,” he said in his complaint.
'The Family Man'
The Family Man on Amazon Prime Video follows the life Srikant Tiwari, a middle-class man who also serves as an intelligence officer. Srikant tries to balance his family responsibilities with the demands of the highly secretive job.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) affiliated magazine, Panchjanya published an article on The Family Man, objecting to certain scenes in the web series. The article read, "In the series, a woman affiliated to the National Investigating Agency (NIA) is shown speaking to her male colleague at Srinagar's Lal Chowk, decrying the fact that Kashmiris were being oppressed by the Indian state as it had shut down phones and internet and used measures like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). At one point she asks her male colleague, who appears quite affected by her talk, whether there is any difference between the Indian administrative apparatus and the militants."
This was also the time when the demand for censorship of OTT platforms first surfaced. Talking to a news channel, Hitesh Shankar (editor of Panchjanya) said, "At a time where the type of content consumption has totally changed, where consumption is higher using mobile/web, not having any restrictions on such platforms is worrisome. We have censor board for films, but the place where the highest volume of content is being consumed- like Netflix has no restrictions on it. People who are working on the fault lines of society, on divisive matters, they are playing in this arena? Where is administration on this?"
'Paatal Lok'
Amazon Prime Video's Paatal Lok marked Anushka Sharma's entry as a producer in the online series space. The show follows cop Hathiram Chaudhary who is trying to solve a case that gets complicated at every step in the investigation. The shows faced three complaints against the content shown.
BJP MLA Nandkishor Gurjar filed a complaint against Anushka Sharma for allegedly using his photograph in the series without permission. He wrote in his tweet that the alleged photo originally featured UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath but the one appearing on the show has been morphed.
He accused the makers of stirring communal tension through the show’s content. The complaint also states that national agencies like CBI have been shown in a negative light. He has demanded a ban on the show.
Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee president Manjinder Singh Sirsa objected to the scene where a Sikh man is shown to be raping a woman while another Sikh man watches in despair. As per Sirsa, this has upset the community, and he demanded that Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar should look into the matter and ban the series.
In another incident, Indra Hang Subba, MP from Sikkim, wrote to I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar regarding a sexist slur used by one of the characters on the show. His complaint states that more than 10.5 million people in India speak Nepali and they have been deeply affected by the incident.
'XXX'
An FIR was filed against filmmaker Ekta Kapoor in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, the charge being that she had allegedly insulted the national emblem, Hindu gods and army personnel in Alt Balaji’s XXX web series. However, Ekta’s representatives said that the controversial scene had been removed.
Martyrs Welfare Foundation (MWF) chairman Major TC Rao raised objections against the show for depicting army men’s wives getting intimate with other men behind their backs when their husbands are away on duty. “This content is highly objectionable and it could demoralise our armed forces,” he told IANS. “XXX-2 also has scenes where uniforms of military men, having symbols of Ashoka statue and Taj are torn apart. This is an insult to our armed forces and military personnel,” Rao said.
YouTuber and Bigg Boss 13 contestant Vikas Pathak, also known as Hindustani Bhau, filed a police complaint against producer Ekta Kapoor and her mother Shobha Kapoor.
'A Suitable Boy'
Netflix's A Suitable Boy, based on Vikram Seth's novel, also found itself surrounded in controversy.
BJP leader and Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra had sought action against Netflix, after a complaint regarding "hurting sentiments" was submitted by Gaurav Tiwari, National President of BJP’s Yuva Morcha. As per Tiwari’s complaint, the show has a scene where a Hindu woman and a man belonging to the Muslim community share a kiss at a temple. He added that the show promoted ‘love Jihad’.
Narottam Mishra said, “I have instructed authorities to check what legal action can be taken against these scenes on the Netflix OTT platform and the producer-director of the series”.
'Mirzapur'
Mirzapur on Amazon Prime Video is a show on local town politics. Akhandanand Tripathi played by Pankaj Tripathi made millions exporting carpets and became the mafia boss of Mirzapur. The show revolves around the politics of taking over the business and have control over the politics in the region.
Mirzapur MP Anupriya Patel called out the makers of the web-series, Mirzapur, and demanded action against the show as it portrays Mirzapur city as a violent one.
In a tweet, MP Anupriya Patel wrote that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the city of Mirzapur has shown development and is 'a centre of harmony'.
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