What Now! Indian Govt To Mandate OTT Censorship?

For a long time now, the Indian government had been contemplating the idea of imposing censorship regulations on OTT content, much like how it is doing for theatrical films.

This discussion got elevated after the OTT debut of recent Punjabi film, Satluj which has iconic singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh in the lead role. This controversial film was instructed to be taken down by the ZEE5 platform as the central government felt it was controversial in nature.

A government official said that the makers of Satluj had applied for a certificate with the CBFC in 2022 under its original title Punjab ’95, but they did not accept the 127 cuts suggested by the censor board and withheld its release.

This film was released on ZEE5, and it instantly blew up as it covers one of the most controversial incidence in Punjab’s cultural history. This immediately warranted action from the Indian authorities as the instructor to take down the film immediately.

As an aftermath, it is being reported that the Indian government is seriously considering the idea of censoring the OTT content starting very soon. The controversy surrounding Satluj now is creating all the more discussion on this topic, and we could be getting a big announcement very soon.

While a few people say it is not right to censor every single content even on OTT as creative expression and freedom of speech are at stake, a few say that controversial content against national security needs to be censored regardless.