Tamil Nadu government writes to I&B Minister seeking ban on The Family Man season 2 

The Tamil Nadu government has written to union I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar seeking a country-wide ban on Amazon Prime Video’s The Family Man season 2. 

The letter, written by Tamil Nadu’s Information Technology Minister T. Mano Thangaraj, alleges the show depicts ‘Eelam Tamils in a highly objectionable manner.’ It claims the show’s trailer, which was released last week, is aimed at ‘distorting and discrediting’ the historic struggle of Eelam Tamils in Sri Lanka. 

“The sacrifices of their long drawn out democratic battle has been intentionally undermined and it could not, by any stretch of imagination considered merely as a serial with any value for Tamil Culture,” the letter reads. “Moreover, a serial which is loaded with insults and insinuations against the glorious Tamil culture could never be considered as the one having any broadcasting value.”

The Family Man season 2’s trailer has been accused of hurting Tamil sentiments by portraying Tamil rebels in Sri Lanka in a negative light. In the trailer, Samantha Akkineni’s character, Rajji, is seen in a military uniform. A voiceover hints at a coalition ‘between ISI and the rebels'.

Earlier, Seeman, the Chief Coordinator of Naam Thamizhar Katchi, had called for a ban on the series. Rajya Sabha member and MDMK leader Vaiko had also written to Prakash Javadekar to stop the broadcast of the show. 

In his letter, T. Mano Thangaraj alleges that branding Samantha’s Tamil speaking-character as a terrorist is ‘directly an attack on the pride of Tamilians living all over the world.'

 He adds that no one will tolerate such a ‘motivated and mischievous’ campaign. 

“While our brethren Eemal Tamils are struggling for decades to enjoy the fruits of equality, Justice, Peace and Dignity in the island nation, it is highly unwarranted for an organisation like Amazon Prime to undertake this kind of smear campaign against the Tamils-who are builders of India as well as many nations across the globe.”

He further states that the series has hurt the sentiments of Tamilians at large and, if broadcasted, it would be prejudicial to ‘the maintenance of harmony in the state.’

“In the circumstances, I request you to take immediate action either to stop or ban the release of “The Family Man-2” in OTT, Amazon Prime not only in Tamil Nadu but also across the country.” 

Earlier on Monday, the show’s creators Raj and DK had issued a statement on the controversy. They requested fans to not make assumptions based on the trailer and said they are mindful of Tamil sentiments. 

“Some assumptions and impressions have been made based on just a couple of shots in the trailer. Many of our lead cast members, as well as key members of the creative & writing team, are Tamilians. We are very cognizant of the sentiments of the Tamil people and Tamil culture and have nothing but the utmost love and respect towards our Tamil people. We have put in years of hard work into this show, and we have taken great pains to bring to our audiences a sensitive, balanced, and riveting story – much like we did in Season 1 of the show. We request everyone to wait and watch the show when it releases. We know you’ll appreciate it once you watch it,” the statement read. 

The Family Man season 2 is set for release on June 4.