Should OTT Come in the ambit of Censorship ? ‘Tandav’ controversy

As the Covid 19 pandemic spread all over India and lead to a complete lockdown, people were forced to stay inside but the urge for entertainment was still bubbling inside the people of this country. This urge was fulfilled by online streaming platforms. Yes, you can say that the wave of OTT platforms came a couple of years before the arrival of the pandemic, but you can't deny that its popularity reached extreme heights in

past one year.

The movies and series released on OTT platforms remain popular among all age groups, but sometimes the scenes shown in the movies or series hurt the feelings of some people.

Recently a 9 episode political drama series named ‘Tandav’ directed by Ali Abbas Zaffar, was released on the online streaming platform Amazon Prime Video. An FIR against the content head, director, and producer was filed for hurting Hindu religious feelings.

This is also observed that the rise of popularity of OTT platforms among the younger generations of society has lead them to be in contact with bloodshed, pornography, abusive language, and violent behavior.

On 9 th November 2020, the Government of India brought video streaming platforms under the ambit of The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. But still, no laws or rules are regulating OTT platforms because it is a new medium of entertainment. Some people can say that Article 19 of The Indian Constitution which implies that every citizen has the rights to express his views, opinions, belief, and convictions freely by mouth, writing, printing or through any other method, so OTT content makers can make anything because

it's their fundamental right. But they forget that these rights come with some reasonable restrictions.

OTT filmmakers should understand that their shows and content are watched by a large population of this country and it has a huge impact on them. They should keep in mind that their shows and movies should not hurt the feelings of the citizens and they should not have a negative impact on the younger generation of this country.

Under the cover of entertainment, the moral sentiments of the citizens should not be damaged.