Hear regulation, know it's censorship

For lack of a better alibi I once did gently infiltrate the advisory panel of the Central Board of Film Certification CBFC between 200709 to figure out exactly how feature films for theatrical release are censored in India mdash in the name of age certificationWhile a series of hilarities followed what became clear to me is elementary If you appoint a bunch of people to travel from far corners of a city just to sit inside a dark hall and condescendjudge whether a movie is fit enough for the rest of India to watch as is mdash the fact that theyve spent half a working day doing just that with a notepad pen and torch in hand theyll think of something At least something to mess withFor whats the point of this whole drill in their head anyway And what good is power if exercised in its omission alone That so many of these independent members were listed as social activists on the CBFC roster tells you they were essentially ruling partys workers masquerading as neutralcultural commissarsAs for merely checking on established guidelines being followed the then Bombay CBFC boss told me mdash given how vaguesubjective these things naturally are you can apply the same set of rules and ban Tom amp Jerry if you like God knows Indian cinema since has suffered enough over all this depending on who gets to censor Pahlaj or Prasoon Sharmila or AshaNever mind that weve also been the global laughing stock on occasion as a result mdash say when David Fincher Girl With The Dragon Tattoo or Woody Allen Blue Jasmine simply refused to release their film in India mdash rather than accept the Indian almighty CBFCs absurd cutsWhats the equivalent of a theatrical release online Although technically untrue you could argue OTT platforms or streaming giants mdash the likes of Netflix Prime Video Hotstar etc Theyve been around in India only since 2016 Within just four years you can see original content with Indians in it competing at the International Emmys no less mdash Delhi Crime Netflix won the Best Drama series in 2020 making Indians justly proudUnsure what independent commissars wouldve made of stuff inside Sacred Games Four More Shots Inside Edge mdash theyre all Emmy nominees Would chunks of it have gone to the deleted folder instead More unsure what scripts will get greenlit as we speak with the looming fear of a government asking for regulating OTT content altogetherBasically you hear regulation in India you know its censorship And it isnt that streaming services arent regulated anyway Besides the choice in your hand to view something subscribe or not with an existing efficient childfamily lock which is foremost the regulation that adults mdash mature enough to vote the very government in mdash ought to be entrusted withLeft to themselves outside of a strong QC Quality Control in place top OTT platforms in India have often already erred to the side of desi caution mdash from blurring map in Borat 2 Amazon blocking John Oliver Hotstar to censoring Mission Impossible Fallout Netflix Furthermore 15 major OTT platforms unanimously agreed to adopt a detailed selfregulation code in September 2020 The government rejected their draft All OTTrelated cases were reportedly instructed to be placed directly under the Supreme Court It seems the state would prefer independent overseersWhich could be similar to the Broadcasting Content Complaints Council BCCC for Indian television How does that selfregulation work Proof is in the picture Watch Indian TV youll know Would the same topdown approach applied to governmentlicensed network television from the analogue world mdash tame only OTT platforms in the unfettered InternetCensorship on the web is like Prohibition of the street Only bootleggers are reborn Unless everything is potentially clamped down on since were in ChinaIran Last checked we werent You and I make a filmvideo It organically spreads online through WhatsApp text messages FB etcEgalitarian Internet makes no distinction between OTT and KRK Neither does the law that you can be booked for transgression regardless of the platform Why does the government make an exception then Proper democracies worldwide are concerned chiefly with protecting minors countering piracy and disinformation through regulation onlineAnd thats not an entertainmentindustry issue Its to do with us the citizens Always As is the condescending idea of a topdown censorship itself mdash even as folk in media have the most to lose It is still as much about artistes right to create as the audiences freedom to consume mdash or notOn certain Indian news stations I only hear discussions centred on sex expletives and violence on streaming services mdash as if creating a mahaulclimate as it were Thats certainly the garb smokescreen if you may Surely this stateled assault on adult audiences intelligencecapacity to decide for itself isnt newLet me tell you what is On each of these TV debates and these are business channels by the way Ive been up against handpicked actorsartistes sometimes the newsanchor himself making a strong case for censorship mdash on themselves When was the last time you saw a society actively ask the government to clamp down on it Never Good WelcomeMayank Shekhar attempts to make sense of mass culture He tweets mayankw14Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news