#CensorWebSeries : Yes or Not?

 

In a democratic country, voice influences government priorities, provides an important corrective to public policy, and encourages consensus building on key issues of national concern. Voice cannot be suppressed for long. Social media has proved it. Everyday people keep raising their voice on new issues through new hashtags on Twitter. But is that the voice and opinion of whole of India?

Recently, a trend was noticed by me on Twitter #CensorWebSeries. People demanded for Censor Board to be formed by the Central Government for control of web series being made in India. The concern was that the youth of the society was being badly affected by the violence and vulgarity shown on the web series that are run on multiple digital platforms and their content are full of violence and obscenity. People were of the opinion that there is a lack of sex education in our society and the way the web series are serving sexual contents to the youth, can have harmful impact on them. 

 OTT platforms: the first choice of youths for entertainment

From the time of proclamation of lockdown, OTT(over-the-top) video platforms became the first choice for entertainment and this trend was not just limited to the metro cities. It reached the masses in small towns and villages too. 

 

Furthermore, a deeper statistical analysis shows that more than 5 billion searches on Google in a single day and currently, there are around 1.7 billion websites that are operating in the digital universe. All these factors augur well for this market growing internet usage would translate into greater uptake of OTT services worldwide.

There are currently about 40 providers of over-the-top mediaservices (OTT) in India, which distribute streaming media over the Internet. The first dependent Indian OTT platform was BIGFlix, launched by Reliance Entertainment in 2008. Netflix and Amazon Prime Video services were found to be "highly popular" in metros, with 65 percent of users hailing from the top five cities.

The recent controversy of 'Tandav'

The recent controversy around 'Tandav', which literally translates to ‘dance of destruction' has triggered demands of cesorship and the government quickly enacted a law to regulate content on OTT platforms such as Amazon Prime and Netflix for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments with its depiction of Hindu deities. Though, the cast and crew of Tandav has taken cognizance of the concerns expressed by the people and unconditionally apologized if it has unintentionally hurt anybody’s sentiments, the apology is only an effort to cap the controversy around the  web series that provoked a torrent of criticism from a section of political parties.

It is also being demanded that the filmmakers should remove scenes that hurt religious and ethnic sentiments in the web series so that the atmosphere of peace, harmony and mutual brotherhood in the country is not spoilt. This is not a first instance. Even before this, many objectionable things have been found in the contents of the web series, which have raised eyebrows.

Demand for Censor : Right or Wrong?

The OTT space has grown out of its nascent stages and is beginning to find its own legs. A recent consumer study by Counterpoint Research reveals that the top five metros account for 55 percent of OTT users in the country. There are a number of reasons that web series gained popularity in India. Major factors which makes OTT so special and unique with youths and other people are - introduction of new and intriguing concepts, readily available on OTT platforms, not time-consuming and can be binged watched on any weekend, produced in local, national, and international languages. That is why, the number of users of OTT is so big and increasing day by day.

Television & Cinema are strong medium which can be used to spread positive, creative & constructive messages in society but whenever any vulgarity or violence was noticed in Bollywood movies, the government swung into action and ordered for inquiry. In order to avoid any violations in cinemas and on television, the Central Board of Film Certification has always played a big role. Violations of Cinematography act has incurred penalties in the past too. The board refused to certify films and serials several times whenever certain standards were not met. 

One section of the society is taking a stand against web series. They want the entire content to be shown before its release among public. UP Government has initiated tough legal action. Maharashtra Home Minister, Anil Deshmukh said that Central government should bring legislation in regard to OTT (over-the-top) platforms.

What do you think-Should web-series be censored?

There is no doubt about it that there is lot of good content on these platforms but at the same time, some of our values are also being compromised in the name of entertainment. It is very difficult to control its influence on different mindsets, thus some aspect of it needs to be controlled if it has consequences.  

So far in India, there are no laws or rules regulating OTT platforms as it is a relatively new medium of entertainment. Unlike television, print or radio, which follow guidelines released by governments, OTT platforms, classified as digital media or social media, have little to no regulation on the choice of content they offer. What do you think? Is it okay to control creativity or is it wise to take charge when directors are taking undue advantage of it?

People have demanded that a censor board should be set up immediately to tighten control over the production of web series. Consequently, the Central Government has come into action. The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has also sought an explanation from Amazon Prime officials on allegations that the web-series had hurt religious sentiments. OTTs were brought under I&B ambit and are currently under a self-regulation framework. However, its role in censorship of content has still not been determined. 

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