All these days film makers and content creators were happy that they could write without any inhibitions and make movies and web series without any limitations and objections. Not having censorship was seen as a great advantage by people who wore creating content for OTT platforms. A sudden move from the Centre has dashed the hopes of the content creators. OTT platforms, like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, SonyLIV, ZEE5, Disney Plus Hotstar among many others, and news websites, will now come under the purview of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, as per a notification issued on Wednesday.
Filmmaker Hansal Mehta expressed his disappointment at the government’s order. Mehta recently saw immense success with his web series Scam 1992. His next film Chhalaang releases on Amazon Prime Video on November 13. According to actor Chandan Roy Sanyal, only when art is allowed to grow and be free can we achieve a digital revolution. Calling India’s OTT space, a new and young medium, Chandan says, “It’s the only way where people can express themselves and create exciting content without thinking much. The boom in digital content is happening since a year and a half in this country. I think by controlling it, we’ll miss out on great content.” Adding that the OTT platforms have also generated a lot of employment, the Aashram Chapter 2 actor hoped “that this law is turned away”.
He said, “To be competing with the greatest content which is being created in Europe, US and Far East, we need to be as modern and have foresight as them in telling our stories.” In the coming few weeks, a backlash is expected. There has been a lot of vulgarity, homosexulaity, porn, violence on teh PTT platforms and even recently because there is no censorship on OTT, filmmakers are denigrating content that has patriotic fervour. The Air Force was shown in bad light in Gunjan Saxena.
