Broadbandindia Magazine

The top-rated Hindi general entertainment channel Colors received 2 showcause notices from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry. While the first one was for Bigg Boss 3, the second is for the TV series Na Aana Iss Des Laado.

Shorts pulling fiasco in `Bigg Boss 3’

Bigg Boss, the reality show hosted by Amitabh Bachchan, has landed in trouble yet again. An episode in which two actor participants, Shamita Shetty and Tanaaz Currim, pulled down comedian Raju Srivastav’s shorts, has resulted in the information & broadcasting ministry sending the producers a show cause notice.

Television sources say that although the episode was not telecast, some of the clips were flashed on news channels, which was brought to the notice of the ministry. In its notice, the I&B ministry states that the obscenity has offended the sensibilities of many viewers who watch the show at prime time with their families. It says that the offensive visuals appear to have been provided to the news channels for repeated telecast and wider public viewing, and adds that the producers have violated Section 5 of the Cable Network Act, which states that no programme which offends good taste and decency or contains anything obscene can be Transmitted/retransmitted on any cable service.

The producers, who have been asked to reply to the notice within five days, say they will reply once they receive it. “We, at Colors, have taken all measures to  ensure that our programme is in compliance with the programme code, and we meticulously beep out any abusive language used by participants, keeping in mind the sensibilities of the audience,’’ they say. However, the ministry’s threat that it will take action against the show if the producers do not reply within five days rings a little hollow.

Poor show of District Magistrate in `Laado’

Colors will have to explain why the programme should not be taken off air for depicting a District Magistrate as corrupt and a womanizer. The notice under section 5 of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 read with Rule 6 (1) (a), (d), (i) and (k) of the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994 and in violation of the Programme Code says the channel must reply within 15 days. If no reply is received within stipulated period, it will be presumed that channel has nothing to say in the matter and further action will be taken against it ex-parte. The notice was for use of vulgar language and obscene gestures used in the show.The notice says the magistrate has been shown in a bad light and negatively. The Ministry noted that the magistrate’s lust for women defies any logic. In fact, in one of the episodes women are paraded before him on his request. The magistrate, who is apparently shown on an official visit to investigate a case of female foeticide has also been shown to indulge in blackmail. “The entire characterization appears to be a grotesque caricature of a district administrator,” the notice said. There is no denial of the fact that portrayal of a public authority in a negative role is well within the rights of a creative medium. However in the democratic set up of our country, a District Magistrate is the chief representative of the Government at the District level. Thus deliberately portraying the character of the District Magistrate in a derogatory way appears to demean the public institution and bring it to disrepute unnecessarily,” the notice  said. In the past also, two showcause notices and two advisories have been issued to Colors.

For the first time in Indian television history, a channel has received two showcause notices within a week. After the first notice, the channel had said that it had taken measures to ensure that programmes are in compliance with the code.The Viacom-TV18 channel was earlier attacked by parliamentarians over the theme of child marriage in its serial Balika Vadhu.

The latest weekly ratings chart looked impressive for the channel. Although Colors, Zee and Star Plus have been neck-an-neck in recent times, the latest data released by TAM India on general entertainment channels gave Colors a decent lead in marketshare. Industry analysts pointed out that the gap between the three market leaders is expected to narrow down shortly.

Nearly 300 such show cause notices have been sent to television producers and channels since 2004, and no action has been taken against any of them, with all the shows completing their terms without any problem. Recently, the ministry sent notices to the producers of Sach Ka Saamna, Pati Patni Aur Woh, and Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao. All the shows completed, or are about to complete, their full term without any hitch.

Manoj Muntashir, writer of Sach Ka Saamna, believes that most of the petitions against the TV shows are “nothing but desperate efforts to get media attention’’. “In a country, which is overcrowded with politicians, it’s a difficult task to get noticed,’’ he says. “Clearly the reason behind these ineffective litigations and petitions is that the person who takes these issues to court loses interest as soon as the media shifts its focus. That’s what happened with Sach Ka Saamna, Balika Vadhu and various other shows.’’

Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam, who participated in the second season of Bigg Boss, says that the government should ban Bigg Boss. “The show is nothing but obscenity and should be banned,’’ he says. “I remember, even in the last season a court case was filed against it.’’