Tandav: The Controversy
Tandav, a new web series released on Amazon Prime, circles around political themes, the mad scramble for power and the willingness to go to any extents for it. Starring Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia, Sunil Grover and other well-known actors, directed by Ali Abbas is being protested against by the fans, uhem, viewers. Various Hindu centric organizations and political people, have expressed their disappointment over the series and have urged the government to ban the show and implement content regulations on the OTT platforms.
The Root of the hatred
At the heart of the controversy is a scene that viewers say, is an insult of the Hindu religion and it’s Gods- Lord Shiva, Lord Rama and the good ol’ Narada Muni. The scene shows a play being staged at a college and goes like this. You can also watch the video on my YouTube channel, linked below.
Narada Muni approaches Lord Shiva and brings it to his attention that followers of Lord Rama are increasing rapidly on social media, suggesting that they should also employ a new social media strategy. Upon this Lord Shiva, jokes should He post a new picture or something?
Narada Muni chuckles exclaiming, that Lord Shiva is indeed very innocent and naive, and advices that He should post something “sensational”. And, informs that the campus students are rallying for independence. Upon this, Lord Shiva says, “Azadi ******” He then asks the students what they’re wanting independence from? The students quote the words of activist Kanhaiya Kumar from JNU — “Azadi” from “Manuvaad, Jaativaad and Atyaachar.” Lord Shiva summarizes it, “Live and let live.”
Now, showing Lord Shiva using a curse word is something I absolutely disagree with. But, beyond this I believe, the scene has been treated unfairly.
A Change in Perspective
Let me explain, how I interpret this drama. Firstly, Narada Muni talking about the growth of Lord Rama’s social media followers is a hint at the ever-growing usage of social media platforms by the public, and how everything now centers around it. A celebrity has a kid? Social media. A political person says something wrong? Social media. You want to check news? Social Media. Some innocent is getting beaten up by a burglar? Social media. I can go on and on about how it is doing all harm and no good, but that’s for another day.
The narrative tradition of using celestial beings to intervene in earthly matters is an old one. In cinema, theatre, literature and television, gods descends on Earth whenever humans lose their way, reminding them of the wisdom contained in the epics and scriptures. Besides, competition between the numerous gods in the Hindu pantheon is hardly a new idea.
I, myself, have been part of two such plays that showed how the influence of our modern lifestyle has reached Heavens too.
Then, Narada Muni suggesting Lord Shiva to post something “sensational”, is a nod to how consumers prefer spicy truth than the actual truth. If you remember the same issue was pointed out by Rajkumar Hirani’s Sanju. And, lastly, there’s Lord Shiva summarizing the protesters’ view as “Live and Let Live.” Which I believe you will agree is a message of peace, rather than an insult.
With regard to Tandav, the real target appears to be the repurposing of Bholenath into a symbol who can destroy cynical and discriminatory politics. What if Shiva were a student, angered by injustice, who seeks to liberate the disenfranchised, the Tandav sequence earnestly and clumsily wants to know. — Nandini Ramnath, Scroll.in
