Amid the controversy surrounding the Diljit Dosanjh-starrer Satluj, the Central government, according to sources, is considering bringing OTT platforms under the purview of the censor.
They said on Wednesday that the Union government may also amend the Information Technology (IT) Rules to introduce these changes.
In a renewed effort to regulate OTT content, the Union government is considering bringing it under the censor board’s purview, the sources said. This comes a week after the Diljit Dosanjh-starrer Satluj was removed from ZEE5.
On Monday, Union Minister of State for Railways and Food Processing Industries Ravneet Singh Bittu said that the government’s objection to the film ‘Satluj’ is not against Jaswant Singh Khalra or his legacy, but against what he described as factual inaccuracies and misleading portrayals in the film.
The Union government, the sources claimed, is deliberating on making censor board certification mandatory to release films and similar content on over-the-top (OTT) platforms.
The Centre may also amend the Information Technology (IT) Rules to implement these changes, the sources added.
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), often referred to as the censor board, is the nodal body for film certification in the nation. Its approval is mandatory for releasing movies in theatres. OTT, however, remains outside its purview, allowing filmmakers and webseries makers to release their content on such on-demand platforms without any scrutiny.
They said that action is also being considered against ZEE5 for streaming the uncensored film on grounds of national security.
The government had long expressed concerns over OTT content and stressed the need for regulation.
This freedom appears to have helped the makers of ‘Satluj’, a movie based on the struggle of an activist to unearth the alleged extrajudicial killings when militancy was at its peak in Punjab.
Originally titled ‘Punjab 95’, the filmmakers had alleged that the CBFC had sought 127 cuts in the movie. They eventually released the uncensored version on ZEE5 with a new title ‘Satluj’ on July 3.
But it did not remain long on the OTT. The movie was pulled down from ZEE5 after sources said the government ordered the removal of the uncertified film from the online platform.
Screening the movie without certification is legally impermissible, sources stressed, adding that the state government bears the responsibility for initiating criminal action for any such violation.