Naam Tamilar Katchi’s (NTK) leader Seeman on Friday issued a press statement calling for a ban on Amazon Prime’s upcoming series Family Man Season 2. In his letter, Seeman warns of dire consequences if the series, which he alleges has shown Tamil people in a bad light, is streamed on the OTT platform. “If they refuse to ban the show, release it country-wide and try to create a false impression about Tamil people, I warn that they will have to face dire consequences,” he wrote. Seeman also writes that he was shocked to see visuals from the trailer that shows Sri Lankan LTTE as a terrorist group and Tamils as violent people.
Seeman alleges that it is not coincidental that the show has been set in Chennai and that it portrays an Eelam woman wearing LTTE uniform and connects her revolutionary group with Pakistan based ISI militant group. The political leader reasons his call for ban by saying, “The show has not portrayed the grave injustice, mighty wounds and unending pain that has been meted out to Sri Lankan Tamils and instead shows them to be an excessively violent bunch. I insist that this show has to be banned.”
In another place Seeman writes, “Even in the face of destruction, the Tamil Tigers did not slip from the way of justice. Instead of showing their greatness, the show tried to portray them as a heartless, violent group. I cannot agree to this any day, that is for sure.”
He also writes that the makers should keep in mind the resistance that was in display for films such as Inam and Madras Cafe and must not go ahead with releasing Family Man 2.
தமிழர்களைக் கொச்சைப்படுத்தும் 'தி பேமிலி மேன் 2' இணையத்தொடரை ஒளிபரப்புவதை ரத்து செய்யாவிட்டால் மிக மோசமான எதிர்விளைவுகளைச் சந்திக்க நேரிடும்!https://t.co/5zWYIaXtAf pic.twitter.com/kQzb63Vqg7
— சீமான் (@SeemanOfficial) May 21, 2021
Inam was written, directed, filmed and produced by Santosh Siva and released in 2014. Following protests by those who alleged that the film showed LTTE in bad light, it was removed from theatres. Madras Cafe, directed by Shoojit Sircar and starring John Abraham, Nargis Fakhri and Raashi Khanna, released in 2013. However, according to reports, this film did not make it to the screens in Tamil Nadu and also in the United States and United Arab Emirates, with its sizable Tamil diaspora.
Soon after the release of Family Man 2 trailer, a section of Tamil Twitter users expressed their anger, alleging wrong portrayal of Sri Lankan Tamils. Starring Manoj Bajpayee and Priyamani in the lead, this season brings on board actor Samantha who is playing the role of a militant.
Created by Raj and DK, this season also has a few Tamil actors in its cast including Mime Gopi, Devadarshini, Chetan, Anandsami, Ravindra Vijay and N Alagamperumal. The release date of this season is yet to be announced. The Family Man Season 1 premiered in 2019 on Amazon Prime Video.