The Family Man is in trouble!

Ahead of its release, season two of Manoj Bajpayee-starrer The Family Man has landed in controversy as many have taken offense at the portrayal of Tamilians in the show. On Sunday, Rajya Sabha MP Vaiko had written a letter to Information and Broadcasting Minister, Prakash Javadekar, seeking a ban on the series. On Monday, the Tamil Nadu government requested Javadekar to either stop or ban the release of The Family Man 2 for allegedly depicting the Eelam Tamils in a negative light. The letter says that the trailer of the show presented Tamilians in a “highly objectionable manner” and there was an attempt to discredit the struggle of the Eelam Tamils in Sri Lanka.

Addressing the issue, directors Raj and DK issued a statement that read, “Some assumptions and impressions have been made based on just a couple of shots in the trailer. Many of our lead cast members as well as key members of the creative and writing team are Tamilians. We are very cognisant of the sentiments of the Tamil people and Tamil culture, and have nothing but the utmost love and respect towards our Tamil people. We have put in years of hard work into this show, and we have taken great pains to bring to our audiences a sensitive, balanced, and riveting story – much like we did in Season 1 of the show. We request everyone to wait and watch the show when it releases.”

Meanwhile, sharing his views, filmmaker Hansal Mehta took to Twitter on Tuesday and wrote, “The objections raised by some sections to Family Man S2 (even before its release) are a test of the new OTT guidelines and their effectiveness in addressing such potentially frivolous, but disruptive complaints.”