Kollywood filmmaker Bharathiraja took to Twitter on June 7, Monday to issue a statement seeking a ban on season two of Amazon Prime Video’s hit thriller series, The Family Man. Featuring actors Manoj Bajpayee, Priyamani and Samantha Akkineni among others in the lead, the second season of the series started streaming on the OTT platform Amazon Prime Video on June 4. “We are upset to know that the Union government hasn’t passed an order to stop the streaming of 'The Family Man', despite requests made by many Tamilians including a TN minister,” said Bharathiraja.
Alleging that the makers of the show lacked understanding about the history of Tamil Eelam, he said, “the visuals in the show reveal that the series has been made by people who do not know the history of Tamil Eelam fighters. I condemn the show that insults the rebellion, which was filled with good intentions, valour as well as sacrifices.”
In the statement, Bharathiraja requested Information and Broadcast Minister Prakash Javadekar to immediately stop the streaming of the show. In the statement, he also added, “As we all know, the show continues to show people from Tamil, Muslim and Bengali communities in a bad light.”
While sharing the statement on Twitter, Bharathiraja also warned the OTT platform that if they continue to stream the show, Tamilians across the world will stop supporting Amazon and boycott other businesses and services that are associated with the OTT giant. His statement comes at a time when many netizens and politicians hailing from Tamil Nadu have requested the show to be banned.
Earlier, Naam Tamilar Katchi’s (NTK) leader Seeman issued a letter to Aparna Purohit, the Head of India Originals, Amazon Prime Video, requesting Amazon to stop streaming the series. “stop streaming 'The Family Man' 2 web series, which misrepresents Thamizhs and distorts the valorous Eezham liberation struggle of Thamizhs,” he wrote.
He further stated, “If you fail to do so and ignore and disrespect our emotions, we Thamizhs across the globe may have to lead a massive campaign worldwide to boycott all Amazon services, including Prime Video."
The Tamil Nadu government too had written to the Union government on May 24 ahead of the series’ release, urging a ban on the web series, stating that it “depicted the Eelam Tamils in a highly objectionable manner”. Tamil Nadu IT Minister Mano Thangaraj had written to Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar, saying that “if allowed to broadcast, it would be prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony in the state.”
எங்கள்வேண்டுகோளை புறக்கணித்துதொடர்ந்துOTT தளத்தில்வெளிவந்தால்
— Bharathiraja (@offBharathiraja) June 7, 2021
அமேசான்நிறுவனத்தின் அனைத்துவிதமான வர்த்தகத்தையும்புறக்கணிக்கும் போராட்டத்தில்உலகெங்கிலும் பரந்துவாழும்தமிழர்கள் பங்கெடுப்பதைதவிர்க்கவோ தடுக்கவோஇயலாதுஎன்பதை
கோடிட்டுக்காட்டவிரும்புகிறேன்.
#TheFamilyManSeason2 pic.twitter.com/bqDI0xQro0
Stop Streaming #TheFamilyMan2 web series, else we Thamizhs all over the world may have to lead a Massive Campaign to Boycott all @amazon Services, including Prime Video.https://t.co/eMCi1AqP8m@aparna1502 @PrimeVideoIN pic.twitter.com/czbSElgnM7
— சீமான் (@SeemanOfficial) June 6, 2021
Created by Raj and DK, the second season of the series features actors Mime Gopi, Ravindra Vijay, Devadarshini Chetan, Anandsami, and N Alagamperumal in prominent roles.