After a delay of four months, fans of the spy thriller series The Family Man are super excited that the sequel to the series will finally stream on Amazon Prime Video from 4th June. The platform released the much-awaited trailer for The Family Man 2 this morning. But before the excitement of fans could whip up into euphoria, the trailer has landed the upcoming The Family Man 2 into a major controversy – a controversy that threatens to snowball into a huge issue.
As per the trailer, The Family Man 2 sees Manoj Bajpayee‘s Shrikant Tiwari and his NIA team facing a double-edged enemy. As shown in The Family Man 2 trailer, Tamil rebels (they’re just called Tamil rebels – the show desists from giving their organisation a name) have joined hands with notorious and dangerous terrorist organisation ISIS , to unleash an attack on India. South actress Samantha Akkineni portrays one of the highly-trained rebels, Raji, in the show.
This part of the trailer has not gone down well with certain sections of Tamils on social media. A number of netizens have taken umbrage to the trailer – they feel that the show is depicting Tamilians as terrorists. Tweets calling for bans on Amazon Prime Video and The Family Man 2 are multiplying by the minute on Twitter. The hashtag #FamilyMan2_against_Tamils is trending widely on Twitter.
Netizens have even cited the example of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha, who had banned the John Abraham film ‘Madras Cafe’ for similar reasons. That film too had been centred on the tussle between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government. Madras Cafe had subsequently been banned from being screened in theatres in several states.
Have a look at some of the tweets that are unhappy with what their writers perceive as unfair depiction of Tamils –
We strongly condemn the TV series which has been taken in a way that glorifies the liberation struggle of Tamils as a whole and portrays Tamils as extremists .
#FamilyMan2_against_Tamils
@Samanthaprabhu2 @PrimeVideoIN pic.twitter.com/BGBcrzxnT2— அதியன் கார்த்திᵀᴬᴹᴵᴸ ᴺᴬᵀᴵᴼᴺᴬᴸᴵˢᵀ❤️💛 (@athiyankarthi) May 19, 2021
Dear Indian movie directors and actors, you have successfully made the word 'Muslim' synonymous to terrorists and helped RW. Now, Do you want the same with Tamils? Be ethical. Be Responsible. #FamilyMan2_against_Tamils@PrimeVideoIN @Samanthaprabhu2 @BajpayeeManoj
— மணிவண்ணன் (@Maathira20) May 19, 2021
Requesting @CMOTamilnadu , @mkstalin to look into this #Familyman2 matter which shows Eezham Tamils and TN in bad light. Former CM Madam Jayalalitha banned #Madrascafe for the same. Hope you also take a strong stand. #Familyman2_against_tamils @Samanthaprabhu2 @BajpayeeManoj
— முனைவர் முகம்மது கதாபி ( Dr Mohamed Gaddaffe ) (@drgaddaffe) May 19, 2021
Dear @PrimeVideoIN , your #Familyman2 trailer is totally insensitive and politically incorrect showing Tamils as Terrorists. We, Tamils ( 10 crores world wide market ) will stop using #Amazon products if the series is going to be same as the trailer.#FamilyMan2_against_Tamils
— முனைவர் முகம்மது கதாபி ( Dr Mohamed Gaddaffe ) (@drgaddaffe) May 19, 2021
In a politically and culturally sensitive country like India, with its vast diversity and ideological differences, it is a tough task to make a show that will meet the approval of every individual. However, it is not the right way forward to judge a show only by its trailer and demand for it to be banned. All of it will result in but one thing – the Indian web entertainment scene will become more fragmented and ruffled. Our nascent homegrown OTT space, which is in the process of finding its feet, has been hit by one controversy after another.
All we can say is, let’s all stop getting ruffled by issues that are mere specks in our social media timelines. A more tolerant, less overreacting audience is the need of the hour to allow OTT content to thrive and flourish as it should. Otherwise, soon, all that will remain for us to watch will be the Government-controlled Doordarshan.
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