The incident came to light when some leftist student organisations raised a hue and cry against the channel for tarnishing the image of the martyr
Mohd Aasif | Clarion India
NEW DELHI — ZEE5, a video-on-demand service of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, delivered an unconditional apology on Monday after an outrage erupted on social media over depicting the sketched photograph of Indian martyr Khudiram Bose as ‘wanted’ in one of the shots of the thriller crime series ‘Abhay 2’ released ahead of the Independence day.
Ken Ghosh, director of the web series, who put the screenshot of the apology delivered by the online channel, attracted almost 2,000 comments reprimanding him.
The incident came to light when some leftist student organisations raised a hue and cry against the channel for tarnishing the image of the martyr. Sourav Ghosh, General Secretary of the All India Democratic Students Organisation (AIDSO), condemned the act, saying that even if the shot was not taken deliberately, such a mistake could not be condoned.
AIDSO’s Ghosh, in a telephonic conversation, told Clarion India that the series was neither historical nor related to the life of Khudiram Bose and yet, the picture was taken to be depicted as a ‘wanted’ person.
“He is the youngest martyr who faced the gallows during the British rule. Such an action will only deteriorate the image of the martyr and send a wrong message to the youth and young generations of the country”, he added.
#KhudiramBose #AIDSO urges upon the officials of @ZEE5India to remove the slandering shot from an episode of #Abhay2 which depicts the great Martyr Kshudiram Bose as a criminal and deliver a public apology.@AbhayOnZEE5 @ZEE5Global pic.twitter.com/fnnTNBuddh
— AIDSO All India Committee (@AIDSO_AIC) August 16, 2020
The official handle of the national committee of AIDSO, tagging ZEE5 officials, tweeted the statement, “#AIDSO urges upon the officials of @ZEE5India to remove the slandering shot from an episode of #Abhay2, which depicts the great martyr Khudiram Bose as a criminal, and deliver a public apology.”
We know what ZEE channel does.
It has an OTT platform, ZEE5. Zee5 is presently airing a series “Abhay-2”.
Martyr Khudiram Bose’s photograph has been used here as one of the fugitive local criminal. #ZEEMustApologise pic.twitter.com/TrAO75cOdL— Aishe (ঐশী) (@aishe_ghosh) August 16, 2020
The matter was also taken up by student activist and former JNU Student Union President Aishe Ghosh. “We know what ZEE channel does. It has an OTT platform, ZEE5. Zee5 is presently airing a series “Abhay-2”. Martyr Khudiram Bose’s photograph has been used here as one of the fugitive local criminals. #ZEEMustApologise”, she tweeted with the screenshot of the scene taken from the series that depicts Khudiram Bose on a ‘wanted’ notice board.
Khudiram Bose was a Revolutionary not criminal!
SFI organised effigy burning of ZEE TV group which is a part of Godi- Media!
Pictures from Kolkata.#SFI #KhudiramBose pic.twitter.com/bZUSJgRmee
— Mayukh Biswas (@MayukhDuke) August 17, 2020
Central Executive Committee of Student Federation of India (SFI) burnt a symbolic effigy of ‘ZEE TV group’, and sent mass emails to ZEE TV. “Khudiram Bose was a revolutionary, not a criminal! SFI organised effigy-burning of ZEE TV group which is a part of Godi- Media!”, tweeted Mayukh Biswas, General Secretary, SFI.
However, ZEE5, in its official statement, said that the shot was completely ‘unintentional’ and demanded to not politicise the issue. The entertainment organisation calls itself a proud Indian brand and claims to have presented multiple shows and content which represent our national and patriotic fervour since its inception.
“Our sincere request is not to politicise the issue and accept our unconditional apology. We hope the viewers will continue to repose their trust and faith in us and appreciate the larger context”, the statement reads.
