Prime suspect: Amazon India apologises for offensive scenes in political thriller
- Reference: 1614885431
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/03/04/amazon_prime_india_apologizies_for/
- Source link:
“We respect our viewers’ diverse beliefs and apologize unconditionally to anyone who felt hurt by these scenes. Our teams follow company content evaluation processes, which we acknowledge need to be constantly updated to better serve our audiences. We will continue to develop entertaining content with partners, while complying with the laws of India and respecting the diversity of culture and beliefs of our audiences,” said the statement issued by the subscription video streaming giant this week.
[1]
The nine episodes of [2]Tandav's season one premiered on January 15 via Amazon Prime Video.
It immediately received criticism for disrespect of Hindu deities, namely a scene where an actor dressed as a god made jokes about social media.
[3]
The scene took place at about 17 minutes into episode one, but viewers won't be able to see it on Amazon Prime India as it has been scrubbed from the show.
There was also backlash for jokes related to the Dalit caste.
Public complaints started rolling in and it wasn't long before members of the Bharatiya Janata Party, one of two major political parties in India, chimed in.
Why is it becoming a trend amongst films and web series makers to demean Hindu gods? Latest culprit seems to be the series [4]#Tandav . [5]#SaifAliKhan again part of a film or series which attempts to target Hindu deities. Director Ali Abbas Zafar needs to remove that scene which mocks — Ram Kadam - राम कदम (@ramkadam) [6]January 17, 2021
Legal reports were filed against the director, the producer and the writer of the web series as well as Amazon Prime Video India head of original content, Aparna Purohit, for provoking communal tension and "hurting religious sentiments" (Section 295A of the country's IT Act.)
The director issued an apology amid a "Ban Tandav " campaign. The controversial scenes were edited out. Tempers did not taper.
Fears of being arrested have caused some members of the cast and crew to file for "anticipatory bail" in several Indian courts – in the country you can apply for this even before any arrest is made – and some have been approved.
On February 25, the Allahabad High Court refused Purohit's request for anticipatory bail, stating
[7]PDF
:The post of Prime Minister has been depicted in a manner which will adversely affect the democratic system of the country. Caste and community related utterances have been made deliberately so that it may affect the public peace.
Similarly, utterances have been made against the State police, public administration and the constitutional posts so that the element of hate is developed between the communities and there are scenes which show disrespect for the scheduled castes.
The case comes at a time when India is [8]increasing regulation of video-streaming companies.
[9]
The new regs require companies like Amazon Prime India to appoint grievance officers, classify programs, verify user age for age-appropriate content, and adopt India's codes of conduct governing journalism for any news broadcasts. ®
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[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YEFmjO@xsB6UuMb8Redw7wAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[2] https://www.amazon.com/Tandav-Season-1/dp/B08SHXWJ6Z
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YEFmjO@xsB6UuMb8Redw7wAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tandav?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[5] https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaifAliKhan?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[6] https://twitter.com/ramkadam/status/1350664687164170242?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[7] https://www.medianama.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/ABAILA_2640_2021.pdf]
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2021/02/26/india_information_technology_intermediary_guidelines_and_digital_media_ethics_code_rules_2021/
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YEFmjO@xsB6UuMb8Redw7wAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Bad news
Even worse, to a theocracy. Which means it's still a primitive society. Autocrats resort to religion when they know their supporters are even more gullible.
Re: Bad news
If "The post of Prime Minister has been depicted in a manner which will adversely affect the democratic system of the country", this can only mean that everyone is taking the Indian PM too seriously; and this would never do in a *real* democracy, where it is compulsory to belittle and lampoon the PM ... even in the unlikely event they turn out to be competent.
I can only urge the good citizens on India most strongly to make fun of their PM, and cast mean, small-minded and cynical aspersions upon both him, his office, and his party, and government; ... even if you happen to a keen supporter. Only in this way will your democracy be saved! :-D
Re: Bad news
Indeed, it's long been a strength of the UK that it doesn't matter what your political leanings, which political party you voted for in an election or whether the Government is likely to implement policies you support, everybody gets to hate the Prime Minister.
Lesser democracies struggle with the seeming lack of respect and don't understand that the office itself has such long standing stability that the mockery and challenge are to the individual temporarily occupying it, not to the institution itself.
Totalitarian states, those that hide from scrutiny and the ones with only a fragile hold on undemocratic power can not countenance criticism of the state or its leader. They fear it, and rightly so, which is why they must be exposed to ridicule and contempt.
This ain't America
That is all.
mocking religion is just wrong!
Cheer up, Brian. You Know What They Say ...
Bad news
India is on the road to autocracy, and moving quickly.
These issues are also a good deflection from the disastrous state of the economy which was in decline before COVID and is tanking now.