Why The Family Man season 2 has waded into controversy even before release

The statement further said that the sets of the Family Man consist of a lot of Tamilians including in the role of creators, writers, cast members among others. (Credit: Twitter/PrimeVideoIN)

Even before the release of The Family Man season 2, the show has found itself into a major controversy with several quarters demanding a ban on the release of the show accusing it of hurting Tamil sentiments and projecting the community into a poor light. Even though only the trailer of the show has been released, politicians from the Tamil Nadu state ranging from MDMK leader Vaiko to state government minister T Mano Thangaraj have demanded a ban on the show, the Indian Express reported.

What is the controversy about?
From the trailer of the show it appears that the character played by actor Samantha Akkineni is that of a Tamil militant plotting a conspiracy in the show. Writing a letter to the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar, Vaiko said that the show depicts Tamil people as terrorists having links with the ISI and Pakistan.

The Rajya Sabha MP further said that the pride of the Tamil people has been hurt by the show. Minister Thangaraj also wrote to Javadekar and said that the show’s representation of Ealam Tamils is distorted and aims at discrediting their historical struggle. The state government went further and even said that by casting Samantha Akkineni in the role of a terrorist is an attack on the lives of the Tamil people around the world.

‘The Family Man’ no stranger to controversy
The show which won the accolades of critics and audience alike in its first season had sparked a controversy in its first season as well. The first part of the show portrayed the Kashmir based terrorism in a balanced manner and amply highlighted the trust deficit between the government and people of the land.

In one of the scenes during the first part, the Kashmiri officer’s character played by Gul Panag tells Manoj Bajpayee(lead protagonist) how the government cut off the basic services like internet connectivity and telephone lines at the drop of a hat. After the release of the first part, the associate organisation of the ruling BJP, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh had accused the filmmakers of portraying the Indian Army in a bad light. The RSS had also termed the content of the show anti-national and jihadi, the Hindu had reported then.

What did Maoj Bajpayee, directors Raj and DK say?
The statement issued by directors Raj and DK said that wrong assumptions and impressions have been made based on a couple of shots of the trailer. The statement further said that the sets of the Family Man consist of a lot of Tamilians including in the role of creators, writers, cast members among others.

Lead actor Manoj Bajpayee in an interview also said that the film is helmed by directors Raj and DK who are themselves Tamilians, writer Suman, actor Samantha Akkineni among others and wondered who could be the better person to safeguard the interests of the Tamil community.