In the past few years Indian entertainment industry has been widely influenced by Western content and is in the process of “westernising” itself. For that the industry has done many changes in its approach. Like instead of investing in star power, the directors and makers are looking for content that will benefit them in the longer run. And with the arrival of OTT platforms this has become more beneficial for the makers. As every person be it a small director or a small actor is getting the same amount of exposure as any other big star.
With continuous process of westernization, the OTT industry has developed the habit of including excessive expletives into the movie or a show. This has divided the audience in two polarizing beliefs.
One half of the society feels that, using expletives and abusive language is common in India and one can notice these words as soon as they go out of their home, it’s like a way of talking in the real world. With this, the audience also has noticed that the Indian entertainment industry is maturing in itself and they are producing more raw and relatable content.
While another half has completely different views, which in short can be described as the frequent use of abusive language is not a good thing and that to showcase it in a nationwide platform is more severe. In a sense it is “glorifying” the idea to converse like this. With most of the audience being in the age group of 15-30, they are being most influenced by this ongoing culture. What examples will they set for the upcoming generation.
The case of abusing in movies and shows has a prone history with bollywood, as in 90s there have been several movies which got banned due to excessive expletives. Directors like Anurag Kashyap have always been in tussle with the censor board of India due to this. As censor board used to chop off the scenes which depicted such things.
But with the arrival of OTT platforms, (which does not particularly censor their content and do not come under Indian censor board)
it has been a smooth ride for their content and it was Anurag Kashyap himself who brought a revolution in the Indian OTT genre with his much acclaimed Sacred Games. While the show was along the lines of Kashyap’s cult Gangs of Wasseypur series, Sacred Games paved the way for the upcoming shows which tried to follow the same pattern as that of it.
And thus, nowadays we see every other show using excessive abusive words as a means of entertainment. While the stars and the director have praised OTT platforms for giving them the “creative freedom”, this has divided the audience. Many renowned celebrities have stated their views regarding the excessive use of foul language and how it should not be encouraged and that there are other methods to provide entertainment rather than using these words. Furthermore, no one talks to anyone like this.
Netizens also have stated their views regarding this, that shows like Scam 1992 and others provide entertainment without using these words unnecessarily. While the latest season of Mirzapur got called out for excessive expletives.
Though providing entertainment, this practice has been termed against Indian values by many people. While some consider it as a brilliant movie to stay raw and relatable to the real life.
What are your views regarding this? Is creative freedom being misused by the makers to provide entertainment by the use of swearing and cursing or people should become more welcoming of the changing nature of Indian entertainment?
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