New Delhi: In a major setback to the makers of Amazon Prime Video and OTT web series Tandava, the Allahabad High Court has dismissed the bail plea of Aparna Purohit, head of Amazon Prime Video Content. Earlier, Aparna Purohit was interrogated by the Mumbai Police at Hazratganj Police Station on Tuesday.
A case was filed by Additional Inspector, Hazratganj, Amarnath Verma in connection with the web series on January 18 against Purohit, Tandav director Ali Abbas, producer Himanshu Krishna Mahar and writer Gaurav Solanki. According to sources, the Lucknow police had prepared a list of about 100 questions for Purohit, who was interrogated in a closed room. His lawyers were also with him. Apart from Lucknow, an FIR was lodged in Gautam Buddha Nagar in Uttar Pradesh under various sections of the Indian Penal Code against the priest and others.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Somen Bara told PTI that investigations are going on in the case related to Tandava web series. Earlier, the Allahabad High Court had not ordered any concrete action against Purohit in the case. In Uttar Pradesh, FIRs have been registered against the show in Greater Noida and Shahjahanpur, Gautam Buddha Nagar, and Lucknow.
Tandava controversy: After the premiere of the web series Tandava starring Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia, Zeeshan Ayub, some Hindu organizations and political leaders had objected to certain scenes and urged that special scenes should be banned from public viewing.
There was a huge uproar in Uttar Pradesh following a complaint. The complainant had objected to ‘people dressed very badly to represent Hindu deities’. The matter became larger after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath warned manufacturers and others named in the FIR to be prepared to ‘pay the price’. However, filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar issued an unconditional apology and later, removed ‘objectionable’ scenes from the web-series.