Tamil Nadu seeks ban on Family Man 2 over 'malicious' portrayal of Eelam Tamils

The Tamil Nadu government has moved to the Centre to ban the television series 'Family Man 2' the sequel to the wildly popular show of the same name, claiming there were "condemnable, inappropriate and malicious contents" in the show that distorted the historical struggle of the Eelam Tamils in Sri Lanka.

The controversy began after the trailer depicted Telugu actress Samantha in a uniform similar to that of the erstwhile Tamil Tiger group in Sri Lanka and also hinted that she would be playing the role of a terrorist in the show.

In a letter to Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar, Tamil Nadu IT Minister T Mano Thangaraj said the trailer released on social media had "hurt the sentiments of Eelam Tamils" and that the show should be held accountable.

"I would like to state that the above serial has not only hurt the sentiments of Eelam Tamils but also the feelings of the people of Tamil Nadu in large-scale and if allowed to broadcast, it would be prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony in the state," the letter was quoted as saying by NDTV. "…Branding Tamil speaking actress Samantha as a terrorist in the serial is directly an attack on the pride of Tamils living around the world and no one will tolerate this kind of motivated and mischievous campaign."

Minister Thangaraj also said that it was "unwarranted" for an organisation like Amazon Prime to undertake this kind of a "smear campaign" against the Tamils and that the serial was intentionally undermining a long-drawn-out democratic battle for rights.

"While our brethren Eelam Tamils are struggling for decades to enjoy the fruits of equality, justice, peace and dignity in the island nation, it is highly unwarranted," Mr Thangaraj said. "…A serial loaded with insults and insinuations against the glorious Tamil culture could never be considered as the one having any broadcasting value."

Family Man Season 2 is scheduled to premiere on June 4. Apart from Manoj Bajpayee and Samantha Akkineni, the series will also see Priyamani, Sharad Kelkar and Sharib Hashmi reprising their roles from the first season.