What happened with 'Tandav' worried us: 'The Family Man' co-director
Suparn Varma, who co-directed The Family Man 2, says controversies around Amazon Prime Video shows Tandav and Mirzapur worried them and there were concerns about how the show would be received by the audiences. Created by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, The Family Man 2 started streaming on Amazon Prime on June 4. The show has been received well by both critics and viewers.
'Tandav' was embroiled in a huge controversy earlier this year
Fronted by Manoj Bajpayee, the series was scheduled to return in February this year but had to be postponed following the controversy over Tandav. Saif Ali Khan-starrer Tandav was embroiled in a huge controversy in January after the show's makers were accused of hurting religious sentiments, leading to multiple FIRs being filed against them.
It was a worrisome development: Suparn
"What happened with Tandav worried us. It is in general a worrisome development, not just us but every show that you are doing. It makes you question what is going to offend who and you have no idea because anybody can get offended," Suparn said.
'We were worried about how the plot might blow up'
"We did look at our show, we were cognizant of what we were doing, we didn't do it for effect, it was integral to the show. But there was a worry how it would blow up," he added. Suparn was speaking at an online conversation with media and fans on FLYX's Bakstage, an audio-based social networking app, on Thursday night.
There were calls in Tamil Nadu for the show's boycott
"We are not writing to create controversy. That's the last thing we want. We want the show to release peacefully and viewers to enjoy it," the 46-year-old writer-director said. Despite the delay, the second season of The Family Man had a not-so-smooth debut as there were calls in Tamil Nadu for the show's boycott due to its alleged portrayal of Eelam Tamils.
We wanted to keep Samantha safe: Suparn
In the new season, Srikant Tiwari is pitted against a new and powerful adversary, Raji, a Sri Lankan Tamil liberation fighter, played by South star Samantha Akkineni. "We were in Mumbai, Samantha was in Hyderabad and our interest was to safeguard her," Suparn said.
Some people were not happy with Samantha's dark skin
"Luckily when most of the people saw the show, they kept quiet. There is some noise but it is not serious. People know we are not demeaning anyone. Also, the love Raji's character has got, it has almost silenced everyone," Suparn said. Earlier, after the season two trailer was unveiled, some people had also raised objections over the darkened skin color of Samantha's character.
Our reason is simple, we wanted best Tamil-speaking actress: Suparn
However, Suparn explained the reason behind the move. "Our reason is very simple. It is not a beautification issue where we wanted dark skin actress or whatever. We wanted the best Tamil-speaking actress and Samantha is the national treasure. The kind of performance she has done should silence anybody asking why not someone else," Suparn said.
