Muslim Filmmaker In India Forced To Issue 'unconditional Apology' Over BJP Backlash

A Muslim filmmaker in India has issued an unconditional apology for "hurting religious sentiments" after an official of the ruling Hindu nationalist party Bharatia Janta Party (BJP) registered a complaint against him with the police

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Jan, 2021 ) :A Muslim filmmaker in India has issued an unconditional apology for "hurting religious sentiments" after an official of the ruling Hindu nationalist party Bharatia Janta Party (BJP) registered a complaint against him with the police.

Filmmaker of Tandav, Ali Abbas Zafar in a Twitter message stressed that though it was a work of fiction, however he tendered the apology for offending the audiences.

The filmaker was targeted for insulting the Hindu gods, however the storyline of the web series was in fact about Indian politics and ambitions unfolding behind closed doors and in corridors of power.

"We have been closely monitoring viewer reactions to the web series Tandav and today during a discussion, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has 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," read the official statement by the cast and crew of the Amazon Prime show, shared on Twitter by filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar.

In an update, Zafar shared that the makers were "in further engagement with the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting to resolve the concerns that have been raised".

"We value your continued patience and support, and should have a solution shortly," he reiterated.

The reaction of civil society went in favour of Muslim filmaker, which regarded the criticism as baseless and an effort of BJP to "conceal the chaotic darkest lanes of Indian politics".

Also, Muslim actor Saif Ali Khan starred the web series Tandav, which had a disclaimer stressing that it was a work of fiction with any resemblance to acts, persons or events being purely coincidental.

According to India Today, an FIR had also been filed against director Ali Abbas Zafar, writer Gaurav Solanki, Amazon Prime's India head of original content Aparna Purohit and Tandav's producer Himanshu Krishna Mehra.