- Millions of patrons starved for quality entertainment during the height of the pandemic had wholeheartedly embraced the Over The Top (OTT) platforms offering a bouquet of options to choose from. The OTT medium emerged as a blessing in disguise in the absence of regular fare dished out on the Television entertainment front as the entire industry went into lockdown. The humongous number of consumers willfully opting for the medium speaks volumes about the popularity these OTT entertainment platforms enjoy in the altered circumstances. No wonder, the medium continues to grow exponentially despite the return of Television production.
PC: KC Karnes
- Of late, several talks is surrounding the objectionable content being aired by some of the popular OTT platforms. Some of the most common objections being bandied about are by now done-to-death hurting the sentiments of a particular community/religion/region, against the tenet of Indian traditions, and uncensored airing of offensive but unsubstantiated content much against the wishes of the majority. As the objections galore reached crescendo and the hallowed portals of the Supreme Court, the Apex Court unexpectedly has gone further by asking for the screening of content on OTT platforms ala traditional censor board meant for regular movies.
- This observation by the SC is after the new rules framed by the Union Ministry for Information and Broadcasting for intermediaries and digital media mentioning that there is no censorship, but largely self-regulation to be the guiding light behind the regulations. In turn, the SC has noted that the new rules are lacking in teeth urging the government to come up with another draft factoring in the court’s suggestions. It is pertinent to also consider the pain inflicted by the pandemic on India’s entertainment industry which is clawing back resolutely now. Any form of state-authorized censorship will render the industry handicapped even further.
PC: madrascourier
- The OTT platforms, unlike censor board screened movies, caters the content to over 200 countries where the consumption is enveloped in privacy, even as showing uncensored pornography was primarily objected to by the SC. Understand that the diverse content vis-à-vis erotic, pornographic, romantic, or artistic comes in varying degrees received by the multitudes where over 700 million subscriptions were welcomed in 2020 alone. A government-led authority in the form of censorship authority making a judgment on all their behalf would be grossly undemocratic as well as destroying the enormous market opportunity for the artists and the content producers. Livelihoods of thousands are at stake here.
- India is a land of world-renowned philosopher Vatsayana who authored Kama Sutra, a treatise on courtship, marriage, and lovemaking. Exhibiting prudish behaviour towards religion, caste, politics, and sex is bound to hurt the soft power of the country as the nation is perfectly capable of self-correction on matters concerning censorship without shackling our storytellers. Therefore, it is strongly suggested to stay away from implementing censorship on OTT platforms as adopting self-regulation alongside age-appropriate certification would suffice which is also an accepted norm of global best practices. The SC is always looked up to as the beacon of hope and hence, should uphold individual liberties and freedom of expression rather than curtail creativity.
