Mumbai: The Supreme Court has refused to grant interim protection to Team Tandav. It has also observed that actors cannot play roles hurting the ‘religious sentiments of others’. This development has led to consternation in the film industry. Many insiders are worried about the road ahead for India’s ‘soft power’. Some openly said that the Supreme Court decision will hamper the creative mind.
A day after the apex court ruling on the starry political saga from most Bollywood biggies remained silent. Several scenes have already been cut from the web series currently being aired by Amazon Prime Video.
However, there were others, including Hansal Mehta, Pritish Nandy, Konkona Sen Sharma and Gulshan Devaiah who spoke of the line between art and the artiste being blurred and the implications of it. Some asked how actors could be held accountable for who they played on screen.
The Supreme Court declined Wednesday to grant interim protection from any coercive action to Tandav director Ali Abbas Zafar and actor Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub. They and others are facing multiple FIRs for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.
Ayyub’s lawyer defended the alleged objectionable part of the web series. He said that as an actor Ayyub has no artistic control over dialogues spoken by him. “You cannot take up role without reading script. You cannot play role hurting religious sentiments of others,” the bench remarked.
There were a number of people who viewed the observations with alarm. Several said it exposes actors, whose very job is to play varied characters, to legal trouble.
Konkona tweeted, “Almost all involved in the show have read the script and signed the contract! Let’s arrest the whole cast and crew?”
Screenwriter-lyricist Mayur Puri is famous for films like Om Shanti Om and Happy New Year. He said it was ‘ridiculous’ to hold an actor responsible for the actions of a fictional character.
“What I thought was particularly alarming was making a creator or an actor responsible for what a character does. That’s fiction! By that logic, you’d say Amrish Puri was a bad person. He wasn’t, he just played those characters. It’s a rather stringent interpretation of the law, it’s blindsided. It’s completely unwarranted,” Puri said.
“So from now on we have to play characters that are exactly who we are. Dear directors, writers & producers are you by any chance writing a role for a nomadic nerd identifying as a cisgender straight woman who is 5’8” and just the right amount of weird & wonderfully astounding?” tweeted Scam 1992 actor Shreya Dhanwanthary.
Also read: Supreme Court declines interim protection from arrest to makers, actors of web series ‘Tandav’
Actor Gulshan Devaiah said the Supreme Court’s decision has left many actors in quandary.
“A lot of us are feeling this is crack of the whip. It is working, in the sense that a lot of us are scared. One thing I find baffling and disturbing is actors are being targetted through FIRs. “We are contractually obligated with the companies, who offer us the contract. If you refuse to do something that you have agreed to then you are breaking contract. They can sue you and take you to court,” Devaiah said.
At the centre of Tandav controversy is a scene. It shows Ayyub’s student leader ‘Shiva’ playing ‘Bholenath’, another name for Lord Mahadev, in a college theatrical production. The makers apologised for the scene and even decided to implement changes under pressure.
Filmmaker Onir described the apex court’s decision as sad. He said the entire industry should be protesting together as it affects everybody.
“Somehow that collective voice is missing, for whatever reasons it seems to be divided but it is absolutely unfortunate,” Onir said. He also cited the backlash faced by shows such as Leila, A Suitable Boy and Mirzapur.
“There is no end to this. It is very sad that we are turning India into a space which will suffocate art. Different opinions flourish and it is okay, one can criticise, debate but don’t throttle. It is extremely sad that something like this is happening, especially when the platform has already re-edited the series,” added Onir.
Producer Pritish Nandy said people have the right to disapprove or criticise. However, intimidating a creative team is just wrong.
“We are globally recognised for our content today. That is why it is so sad to see what is happening to shows like Tandav and. There are far simpler remedies available. Use those,” Nandy stated.
Filmmaker Hansal Mehta asked his followers on Twitter, “Arnab or Tandav? Which is more dangerous?” He was referring to TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami whose purported WhatsApp chats have caused a huge controversy. Following up on the tweet, he further wrote, “Deep Sidhu or Mohd. Zeeshan Ayyub?”
Responding to a news alert on SC’s decision on Tandav, actor Richa Chadha tweeted: “Priorities of the apex court!”
