It is nothing new that OTT platforms have been embroiled in legal battles for a very long time as many organizations have opposed the kind of content that they have been propagating. Very recently, a decision was taken to bring all of these platforms under the regulation of the broadcast ministry, and people have not taken well to it at all.
The major OTT platforms have always vied to give the benefit of the doubt to the creators, and their censorship is limited only to telling the audience the kind of explicit content it may carry and then leave the choice of whether they want to view it or not up to the audience.
That may not be the case very soon, and the Indian audience is in a terrible state with a lot of scorn regarding this decision. Documentaries which have become the forte of the major platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime may have to become a bit cautious, and this could be an even bigger blow for all the stand-up comedians in the nation as their specials may not always be considered in good taste by the government.
As of now making any proclamations or criticizing this decision may be untoward as there are many aspects about this that we do not know and still have to figure out, but netizens and performers around the world have not been shy in giving them some flak.
One has to think whether shows like Aashram or Paatalok and various other documentaries will be allowed to air in light of these new regulation norms and the tougher question right now remains. Will this be the death of active freedom of speech for the creative heads of the platform as well as the makers?
We do not want to insinuate anything, which is why we leave it up to you to and ask you to assess this question for yourself with an open mind.