Films based on the armed forces have mostly received a high viewership. But now, with the mode of entertainment shifting towards OTT platforms, there are ample examples of stories based on or revolving around the armed forces that are being showcased here. And some of these that are based on “Army theme” have been reported to be “distorting the image of the Indian Army”. The Ministry of Defence recently wrote a letter to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) seeking the need for all production houses to obtain an NOC from the Ministry before telecast of any film, documentary or web series on the Army theme. “Whenever a film is made on the Army, even after getting it censored you still have to show the film to the Chief of Army. The same guidelines will now be enforced for OTT platforms,” informs Atul Mohan, trade analyst, adding that this was a necessary step waiting to be taken. “The responsibility should be more on content makers as the youth gets hugely influenced by cinemas, movies and media. People take cinematic liberties; like the recent issue with Ekta Kapoor’s series which was taken as an insult to the military. These instances are the reason why the need of an NOC arose… In other countries such as the UK, one has to get OTT content censored before it airs. Then why not in India?” adds Mohan veering the discussion towards the long pending concern of the need for OTT content censorship.
Recently, a web series received criticism for presenting an army wife in a bad light and also misusing the army uniform in an explicit scene. These things impact the morale of people facing hardships for the country on the border; they are ready to face death for their nation. Actually, about 40 years ago, the uniform and clothes of the army weren’t sold in public. Now, even the security guards are given uniforms in the same cloth, and nobody checks. It’s very difficult to be a fauji (soldier), and respect must be accorded to the defence forces opines a source.
