The
Information
and
Broadcasting
Ministry
on
Sunday
(January
17)
issued
a
notice
to
Amazon
Prime
and
the
makers
of
the
web
series
Tandav.
The
political
thriller
starring
Saif
Ali
Khan,
Dimple
Kapadia,
Sunil
Grover,
Tigmanshu
Dhulia,
Dino
Morea,
Kumud
Mishra,
Mohd
Zeeshan
Ayyub,
Gauhar
Khan
and
Kritika
Kamra,
premiered
on
the
streaming
platform
on
Friday
(January
15).
"The
ministry
has
called
executives
of
the
video
streaming
service
and
decided
to
seek
an
explanation
from
them
over
the
matter," an
official
told
Hindustan
Times.
The
development
came
after
several
leaders
protested
against
the
show
for
ridiculing
Hindu
deities.
BJP
MP
Manoj
Kotak
on
Sunday
also
revealed
that
he
wrote
a
letter
to
I&B
Minister
Prakash
Javadekar,
seeking
a
ban
on
the
series.
Kotak
urged
to
constitute
a
regulatory
authority
for
OTT
platforms,
claiming
that
programmes
telecast
on
these
platforms
are
full
of
sex,
violence,
drugs,
abuse,
hate
and
vulgarity.
Sometimes,
they
also
hurt
religious
sentiments,
he
added.
New
FIR
Filed
Against
The
Makers
Of
Tandav
ANI
also
reported
that
a
"First
Information
Report
(FIR)
has
been
registered
against
Amazon
Prime's
India
head
of
original
content
Aparna
Purohit
at
Hazratganj
Kotwali
in
Lucknow
in
connection
with
the
controversy
around
the
web
series
Tandav."
Director
Ali
Abbas
Zafar,
producer
Himanshu
Krishna
Mehra,
and
writer
Gaurav
Solanki
have
also
been
named
in
the
FIR.
A
Complaint
Was
Also
Filed
By
BJP
MLA
Ram
Kadam
Another
BJP
leader
MLA
Ram
Kadam
had
also
filed
a
complaint
at
Ghatkopar
Police
Station
against
the
makers
of
the
show
for
allegedly
insulting
Hindu
gods.
"Strict
action
should
be
taken
against
the
actor,
director
and
producer
of
the
web
series,"
he
said.
OTT
Platforms
Are
Now
Under
Ministry
of
Information
and
Broadcasting
Back
in
December
2020,
the
government
brought
OTT
platforms
such
as
Netflix,
Amazon
Prime
Video,
Disney+
Hotstar,
ZEE5,
SonyLIV
and
others,
besides
other
online
news
and
current
affairs
content,
under
the
ambit
of
the
Ministry
of
Information
and
Broadcasting.
The
ministry
has
been
given
powers
to
regulate
policies
and
rules
for
the
digital
space.