TANDAV – Yet Another Myth Mongering Liberal Showpiece

Before I get onto say why TANDAV is an ultimate liberal showpiece, I must say, Saif Ali Khan and Dimple Kapadia have gracefully taken the show forward. While other actors too show their acting prowess, these two stand apart when it comes to performance. But, I must say, TANDAV is yet another web series that falls in line with the liberal ideology and is lot more myth mongering.

But reading my blog one would easily say I’m pro-Hindutva or should I say, Bhakt? Well, I have no shame in admitting that. Because ideology is my choice and I stick to it quite vehemently for several myths that exists in our society. And TANDAV vividly expresses the same and I call it a liberal showpiece.

Muslims are Victims

The show begins with a farmer agitation that fights land acquistion in a village called Malakpur. Gurpal, the henchman of Samar Pratap Singh (Saif Ali Khan) arrives at the spot and orders the cops to charge on the protestors. Then, he gives a list of 3 young men to target specifically. As the cops begin charging against the agitators, two of the three targets go missing. The third person i.e., Imran Zaidi is at Vivekananda National University (VNU).

His arrest causes enrage among his fellow students who go to the Police Station to fight for his release. Shiva Shekhar, the chosen Chandragupta Maurya of Samar Pratap Singh is meeting Imran Zaidi inside the lockup. The latter reveals that he is among the three targets and the remaining two are already shot. The highlight was, Imran says, “Hum logon ka maarna bahut aasaan hota hai na (Killing us is pretty easy right)?”

Well, if the government has to kill them, it is far more easier to do so. Why are they living free for so long? Well, how many muslims were killed during anti-CAA protests? Existence of an ever increasing population of muslims in itself proves that they are not the victims as they proclaim.

Azadi (Freedom) & Double Standards

Azadi(freedom) is the slogan across the series. Well, we are not colonized by British anymore, yet we need freedom. Let me correct myself, we need freedom from communalism, fascism etc. etc. I must also mention that Shiva Shekhar enacts a play as Lord Shiva who is conversing with Naradmuni, “Ram has gained more popularity these days should we do something to increase ours?” And Shiva is thinking of changing his display picture.

Well, why not make a comparison between Allah and Shiva or Allah and Jesus or even Jesus and Shiva? Isn’t it showing their double standards? Moreover, if liberals are subject to a killing spree as claimed, will they have so much freedom to do this? Hindus and Muslims do have differences, but that doesn’t cause any disharmony until something like this comes up. Azadi from pseudo-liberalism is what the country needs.

Student Politics is of National Importance

A group of farmers go to VNU with sweets and an Aarthi plate to thank Shiva Shekhar as his viral video is helping their cause. Then he goes on to contest the student body elections as a left representative. Surprisingly, this election is telecasted in national television and Shiva Shekhar who is contesting for Vice Presidency is more popular than Chetan Kranti, the President nominee. Samar and his henchman Gurpal tactically pursue to change his ideology from left to right. Why? So that he contests the student body elections and becomes a political star in the coming years. So that Samar can take revenge on Anuradha Kishore who stole his opportunity of becoming Prime Minister at the first place.

Sacred Games, Paatal Lok and TANDAV in my opinion is a liberal showpiece for all the myth mongering. I still appreciate their creative abilities, but the same might be responsible for creating ideological disharmony within the society. The same could lead to a lot more than disharmony. If that’s what these web series aim to achieve, then the OTT platforms and the entire Bollywood requires a policy to thwart all these myth mongering efforts.