ITV

Tag: Family Man 2

  • Amazon Prime Video launches #TheFamilyManJobHunt

    Amazon Prime Video launches #TheFamilyManJobHunt

    KOLKATA: As we inch closer to the release of the new season of the eagerly awaited Amazon original series – The Family Man, Amazon Prime Video has launched an innovative engagement initiative with India Inc. and startups to stir-up the excitement quotient for the series.

    Titled #TheFamilyManJobHunt, this unique influencer campaign follows Srikant Tiwari’s (Manoj Bajpayee’s character in the series) quest for a new job, with him being interviewed by business stalwarts like Ritesh Agarwal, founder & chief executive officer of OYO Hotels & Homes, Manu Kumar Jain, vice president of Xiaomi, Kabeer Biswas, chief executive officer & co-founder of Dunzo and Ankur Warikoo, co-founder of Nearbuy. The engagement initiative picks up from last season’s story-arc where Srikant faces an uphill task of finding a decent desk job for himself, having just quit TASC (a fictitious arm of the Indian intelligence agency) to spend time with his family.

    Kick-starting the digital campaign, lead actor Manoj Bajpayee took to his social media to share that Srikant Tiwari has finally chosen to be an ideal Family Man and is on the lookout for a corporate job. His post triggered a round of fun and quirky conversations among fans, celebrities and social media influencers who replied to his tweets with bizarre job recommendations. Industry leaders like Ankur Warikoo (Nearbuy), Kabeer Biswas (Dunzo), Ritesh Agarwal (OYO) and Manu Kumar Jain (Xiaomi) are seen joining in the fun banter as well, proposing to interview Srikant. What follows are a series of interesting virtual interviews with these renowned business leaders that has created quite the stir in the corporate world and even amongst internet users.

    Nearbuy co-founder Ankur Warikoo said, “Srikant (Manoj Bajpayee’s character in the show) is a super talented guy. (I) would have loved for him to be part of Nearbuy. Not sure why the reference checks aspect of his interview made him get all weird. Love such talent, sad he could not join us!”

    Dunzo CEO & co-founder Kabeer Biswas said, “Working with The Family Man team has been a thrilling experience much like the show itself.  It was a natural extension for Dunzo – through the pandemic, our team has worked to keep Indian citizens safe. No mean-feat, if you think about it! Just like Srikant, we have had to balance multiple priorities. As we continue to deliver essentials across the country, we’re sure that the series will deliver on the intrigue and entertainment it did with the first season. And Srikant, the job offer is always open!” 

    Xiaomi vice president Manu Kumar Jain added, “It was an absolute delight to collaborate with the team of Amazon Prime Video for the upcoming season of The Family Man. It was great to have Srikant interview with us. He promises to be a high performing individual both on reel and in real life much like Mi TV, India’s no. 1 smart TV brand. We are confident that with the passion he has, the new season of The Family Man will continue to be one of the most popular shows amongst the audiences.”

    Amazon Prime Video India, marketing director Sushant Sreeram said, “As India’s much loved video streaming service, we have had the opportunity to build immersive worlds for our viewers with blockbuster series like The Family Man. A big part of building that on-going relationship with our viewers is to bring elements from reel life to real life and vice-versa. Srikant Tiwari (being) on a job-hunt is just that – a much loved character doing something many of us have experienced in real life. We had a ball working with leaders of some of the most exciting startups in the country right now, putting together this fun job-hunt campaign for our customers. Who is going to hire the not-so-minimum guy? Tune in to Amazon Prime Video on the 4th of June to find out!”

  • After “Tandav” protests, Tamil Nadu wants “The Family Man 2” banned

    After “Tandav” protests, Tamil Nadu wants “The Family Man 2” banned

    Thiruvananthapuram: The eagerly awaited release of Amazon Prime’s original, The Family Man 2, has landed the platform in a fresh controversy, with the Tamil Nadu government seeking a ban on the series. The state government, in a missive to the union information and broadcasting ministry, has alleged that the Amazon original insults Tamil culture and history.

    Responding to the allegations and ban request, The Family Man creators Raj and DK issued a statement stating that it was unfair to draw conclusions and make assumptions merely after watching the promos of the yet-to-be-released series. 

    “Some assumptions and impressions were made based on just a couple of shots seen in the trailer. Many of our lead cast members, as well as key members of the creative & writing team, are Tamilians. We are very cognizant of the sentiments of the Tamil people and Tamil culture and have nothing but the utmost love and respect towards our Tamil people,” said The Family Man creators in the statement. 

    The TN government made the ban request after the recently released trailer of The Family Man 2 went viral on online spaces. On Monday, the minister for information technology, Mano Thangaraj, sent a letter to union minister for information and broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar, and urged the latter to ban the series not only in Tamil Nadu, but also across the country, stating that the series depicts Eelam (read Sri Lankan) Tamils in a highly objectionable manner.

    In the trailer, south Indian actress Samantha Akkineni is seen portraying the role of an LTTE terrorist, which the Tamil Nadu government has objected to, saying the depiction of a Tamil actress in such a manner was an affront to Tamil culture itself. 

    “The sacrifices (made and) their long drawn democratic battle has been intentionally undermined and it cannot, by any stretch of imagination, be considered merely as a (television) serial (that holds) any value for Tamil culture. Moreover, a serial loaded with insults and insinuations against the glorious Tamil culture can never be considered as having any broadcasting value,” Thangaraj stated in the letter. 

    Thangaraj also accused Amazon Prime Video of carrying out a smear campaign against Eelam Tamils who struggled for decades in order to ensure a life with equality, justice, peace, and dignity in Sri Lanka. 

    Rajya Sabha MoP Vaiko has also written to the I&B Ministry seeking a ban on Family Man 2. According to Vaiko, the recently released trailer portrays Tamilians as terrorists and ISI agents. He also added that the trailer wrongly depicts the sacrifices made by Tamil Eelam warriors as acts of terror. 

    Elara Capital vice president and research analyst Karan Taurani said that problems like these could arise in a multi-cultural society like India. 

    “As there are no regulations on OTT content, we should expect such issues (coming up). India is a multi-cultural country, and content creators always are at risk while handling sensitive subjects. Earlier, it happened with Tandav, and now with The Family Man 2. We should expect such rows and controversies in the future too,” said Taurani. 

    On 25 February, the union government had released the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, in the wake of the Tandav controversy. However, the rules were termed as ‘toothless’ by the supreme court of India which found these rules were unable to regulate OTT content or even prosecute offending OTT  platforms airing such content. The apex court has advised the union government to frame a law to regulate the OTT ecosystem.  

    The Family Man 2 is scheduled to release on 4 June. The series stars Manoj Bajpayee essaying the role of a middle-class man who secretly works as an intelligence officer with the Threat Analysis and Surveillance Cell (TASC), a fictitious branch of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in India. 

    The series is not the first Amazon Prime Video original that has run into controversy. A few months back, post the release of Tandav, several leaders of the BJP called for a similar ban, claiming that the series hurt religious sentiments of Hindus.