Maharashtra minister says police will investigate case against Tandav

Anil Deshmukh said that the UP police had sought permission from them for the investigation in Mumbai in three cases lodged against Tandav.

Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh on Wednesday said that the state police have received a complaint against Amazon Prime Video’s controversial web series Tandav and they will soon register an FIR and an investigation will follow. The minister also demanded a regulatory mechanism by the central government for the OTT platforms to avoid any communal tension in the country.

Several FIRs have been filed against the web series for allegedly inappropriate depiction of Hindu deities. Many organizations have demanded a ban on the series. (Videograb)

“These types of content create communal tension and lead to the division between communities. The central government should take appropriate steps to avoid such tensions,” he said.

Deshmukh said that the Uttar Pradesh police had sought permission from them for the investigation in Mumbai in three cases lodged against Tandav.

“They had sought our permission for the investigation and it is a routine process to visit other states in relation to the investigation. Even teams of Maharashtra police keep visiting other states for investigation,” he said.

Several FIRs have been filed against the web series for allegedly inappropriate depiction of Hindu deities. Many organizations have demanded a ban on the series.

Ali Abbas Zafar, the director of the series, has agreed to making changes to the series to appease the protesters.

In a statement shared on social media on Tuesday, the filmmaker wrote, "We have utmost respect for the sentiments of the people of our country. We did not intend to hurt or offend the sentiments of any individual, caste, community, race, religion or religious beliefs or insult or outrage any institution, political party or person, living or dead. The cast & crew of Tandav have made the decision to implement changes to the web series to address the concerns raised towards the same. We thank the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for the guidance & support in the matter. We once again apologize if the series has unintentionally hurt anybody's sentiments."

Multiple cases have been filed against the series in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Tandav stars Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, among others.