A section of particular caste surrounded RSS ideology Hindutva group managed to block producer Elango Raghupathy’s much-awaited web series titled Godman on Zee5.
The 10-part series, lasting 350 minutes, which was to go on air from June 12, has been shelved following protests against the series on the grounds that it hurt the sentiments of a section of the community.
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On May 30, the president of the an unknown faction suddenly popped up in the name of World Brahmin Organisation, and a person called Subramaniya Iyer, filed a complaint under Sections 153, 153 (a), 153 A (1B), 295 A, 504, 505, 505 (1) B and other sections of the Indian Penal Code, implicating both the producer and the director, Babu Yogeswaran, in a criminal case.
The BJP party’s obedient ADMK government did not waste any time but converted the complaint into a first information report (FIR) on the same day against the producer , Director Babu yogeswaran who was earlier directed movies with leading heroes in Tamil cinema Jayam Ravi and Vijay Antony in the film title Dass and Tamiarasan
Following this development the producer , Raghupathy too lodged a complaint with the police. But with out given an opportunity the police asked Producer and Director of the godman series to be present before the police on June 3.
“My complaint is just that. It has not been turned into an FIR. Rather, I have been asked to report to police on June 3,” complain the producer Raghupathy
[splco_quote]“ The Godman story revolves around a fake godman. Actually, he is a petty thief. From there, he evolves into a fake godman who manipulates people. This is the story. There is nothing against any segment of society or any caste.[/splco_quote]
People claim it is against Brahmins. There is nothing against them. We have no hatred towards any community, caste or religion. It is just a fake godman story,” said Raghupathy.
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“There is zero tolerance everywhere in India, I believe. They jumped to conclusions by seeing just a teaser. It is both unconstitutional and unconscionable.”
“We have only released teaser. The series will certainly have a disclaimer as and when it is released,” said Raghupathy. But it is anybody’s guess when the series will make it to public domain. “They [the channel] have, for the moment, stopped it,” he said.
Raghupathy has delivered the entire content and can only wait for a green signal from the channel for the series to be aired. “The copyright is with them. Zee5 commissioned the show. It was a result of teamwork.
From the beginning, both were involved.” As a consequence, Raghupthy cannot even hope to take the show to another channel.
Does he not feel angry with the reaction of the police? “This is a grave situation. I can understand the pressure on the channel too. There is the right-wing element involved…. What more can I say?” said Raghupathy.
For the moment, he is left to fend off the threats online as he has not been provided any security. “Immediately after the teaser, they flashed my number on social media.
I started receiving abusive calls. They used my photograph for some crime committed by a guy called Hari. They are trying to bring the lynching culture to Tamil Nadu. We need to act now. We need to resist the forces who think they can police our ideas.”
To fight fascist forces, the Godman team has started a signature petition which it plans to take to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, the Information and Broadcasting Minister and the Prime Minister.
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It is pertinent to note Zee itself a Pro government media and the particular caste dominated RSS ideology opposing a web series that not been launched created tons of curiosity amidst Tamil speaking people and this bring up lot of support on Social media . Interestingly Mr. Iyer did not make charges against Zee Tv media who aired this teaser repeatedly..
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Section of Microblog users questioned why a particular caste goes up against a web series even after the creative team said clearly it is not against them but exposes only the fraud godman and also suggested in case if Zee media clandestinely joint hands with the Hindutva forces stop airing this series then there are better channels using which the same godfather web series can be aired ..
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