31 January,2021 07:41 AM IST | Mumbai | Aastha Atray Banan
A protest led by Karni Sena in Jaipur last week saw demonstrators deface posters of Amazon Prime Video show Tandav. They demanded a ban on the show for hurting Hindu sentiments. Some also alleged that a scene castigates Dalits. Pic/Getty Images
A director like Hansal Mehta knows how to deal with, and digest censorship. His 2017 film Omerta told the story of Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, a British terrorist of Pakistani origin, who was behind the 1994 kidnapping of tourists in India. In 1999, he was released and found himself safely in Afghanistan backed by the Taliban in exchange for the release of Indian passengers aboard an Indian Airlines hijacked flight. When the film went to the Censor Board, two scenes proved contentious: Omar relieving himself as the national anthem played, and the protagonist having violent sex preceding a terror operation. "I had expected that it would be problematic, but you [the filmmaker] can try. My argument was that it's the character who is disregarding the national anthem, not me!" Mehta argues.
His argument would certainly not hold true today.
The last few weeks have been defining for freedom of expression for the entertainment industry in India. After Saif Ali Khan -headlined political drama Tandav, directed by top Bollywood maker Ali Abbas Zafar, premiered on Amazon Prime Video, dissenting voices said Hindu religion had been disrespected through scenes in the first episode. The first was a stage play where college students playing Shiva and Narada wonder how they can improve the former's social media popularity, while another was seen as a casteist slur where Tigmanshu Dhulia, who plays Prime Minister Devki Nandan Singh mocks a Dalit politician. After the trolling, BJP MLA Ram Kadam filed a complaint at Ghatkopar police station on January 20, and an FIR was registered in Mumbai. On January 18, a FIR was filed against the director, producer and the writer of the web series, along with Amazon Prime Video's India head of original content at the Hazratganj police station of Lucknow. Another one at Greater Noida, then Jabalpur, followed by a complaint in Patiala House, New Delhi. Even the Confederation of All India Traders wrote a letter to Prakash Javadekar, Union Information Broadcasting Minister, on January 19, asking to stop the streaming. Zafar apologised unconditionally, and the makers responded by deleting the scenes. Last week, the Supreme Court declined to grant interim protection to Zafar, actor Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub and others facing multiple FIRs, and remarked that an actor "cannot take up a role without reading the script".
For Mehta, the brouhaha is unreasonable, because "Tandav is just a pot boiler". But he suggests we don't let despair take over.
"I get that people are depressed with what's unfolding, but I also believe that this government is business conscious. The OTT ecosystem rakes in a lot of business. Perhaps we should keep away from religious and political content for a while."
Mehta's suggestion may be prudent but this means the end, or at least partial suspension, of freedom of expression that defined web shows in India. Last November, the government brought video streaming over-the-top (OTT) platforms under the I&B Ministry's ambit instead of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. While the government has demanded a list of what constitutes prohibited content and more muscle to the complaints mechanism, the industry had responded with what's called an Implementation Toolkit. Following the scale of this recent protest, it could very well mean that makers and writers self-regulate, choosing to stay away from politically and religiously sensitive references.
It's then the first officers of creation - the writers - who have the most rewiring to do, whether it's with their beliefs or process. Mayank Tewari, writer of the critically acclaimed political satire Newton, and behind the dialogues for Ragini MMS, is currently working for a Netflix show. "Let's see how things pan out. It's curtailment for sure. Can we now show a policeman or judge as corrupt? I don't know. The good part is that once the content is made, you can have a problem with it, but it will find its audience anyway, even if through WhatsApp. That's the beauty of living in these times." But he also admits that because making a show or film takes a whole lot of money, energy and time, the investment is huge. "No one wants their time and money to go down the drain. So we will be told, âyou are an entertainer, not an activist'. And when writers start second guessing, it's not good. The trouble is that today anything can cause a problem - if you look at Kalidas's poetry, it's erotica about Shiva and Parvati. If we reference that, even that will cause a problem. We are a nation addicted to outrage, and anything can offend," he says, adding that platforms and creators are now looking for legal backing, with lawyers likely to vet the script.
For Atika Chohan, who wrote Meghna Gulzar's Chhapaak, which got into trouble as lead actress Deepika Padukone, visited JNU in her personal capacity to show solidarity with the anti-CAA protesters, auto editing creative thoughts is a reality. The idea of having legal vet a series is making writers doubt their ability and scope. "I read somewhere this crazy word called âcinema jihad'. Didn't writers have enough of a struggle to put up while pitching their stories, that we now have to make sure no one gets offended. India is not an exciting place to be, the creative possibilities are shrinking," says Chohan. So, what's the solution? Resourceful thinking. "History has taught us that in times like these, creatives find ways to say what they want - tiered narratives, metaphors, layers. In Iran, when creators were censored, they still told stories of social divide, but by using children as protagonists. Maybe, we need to do that, but right now I am angst ridden and worried."
Actor Sumeet Vyas, who played a politician in Dark 7 White, says he feels we are living in Orwellian times
Sidharth Jain is the founder of the Story Ink, a platform that seeks film or dramatisation rights to books written by Indian authors. He says he isn't surprised b the developments because in India, some things we don't talk about. He is currently working on a book deal that concerns a fiction title. "And yet [after the Tandav episode], I told the writer, let's go over it all over again. Fighting legal battles is expensive. Writers and creators can't be expected to seek legal help in early stages [of creation]. For now, it's best to stick to finding family comedies, where everyone is happy."
Some argue that even in the absence of a censor body, the freedom to approach a court of law exists and can be used to stifle expression. Mihir Desai, senior advocate, Bombay High Court, explains that anyone can set criminal law in motion, and it's harsh. Multiple complaints can be made against a single party across locations, complicating the matter. The police, of course, has the power to review the complaint and judge if an FIR should be registered. "Usually, complaints seem to get converted into FIRs in states where a particular ideology has political backing, and so the consequences are harsh."
The irony lies in the fact, says a writer who didn't wish to be identified for the story because he is pursuing a legal suit, that OTT platforms want cutting edge stories. But when the environment isn't conducive, they have no choice but to take note. For an international player like Netflix, this means having to ascribe to multiple rulebooks, a different one for every market. An article published in The Hollywood Reporter in 2019 said: Until very recently, Netflix has always taken a "move fast and break things" approach typical of Silicon Valley startups, with most criticism of its shows either ignored or dismissed." After having a presence in over 190 countries, not anymore. In the past, the platform has got into trouble for smoking scenes in Stranger Things, for depiction of Palestinian terrorists in Fauda, and for kissing scenes in their Arabic original Jinn. Amazon Prime Video, which had admitted to self- censorship as early as in 2016, had said: "Amazon is a responsible company and we are here to entertain the Indian customer with award-winning content from the US along with blockbusters from Indian and regional makers. We will keep Indian cultural sensitivities in mind while offering this content to customers." Rangita Pritish Nandy, who created the racy Four More Shots Please!, for Amazon Prime, says nobody really starts out with the idea of offending. "The arts are a reflection of the times we live in, always have been. What we, as creators and producers, bring to cinema and streaming, finds its seeds in the world around us. I don't really see that changing. What may change is the way we choose to say it. Blatant calling out will stop and intelligent profiling and writing will be celebrated. Streaming has shrunk the world. When the world is your audience, it makes you brave."
Vishal Watwani, writer and producer for Helllo Jee, a show about phone conversations between call centre employees and men who need to be "entertained", for AltBalaji, says while we cannot expect to be free to say anything we like, censorship in India seems more about appeasing the powerful than reviewing content in the interest of audience good. He echoes the words of the senior counsel representing Amazon Video Prime in the Tandav case. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, authorised counsel for Amazon India, had told mid-day last week, "People are entitled to make a political satire. If you don't need to watch it, don't; no one is forcing individuals to watch the collection. According to me, these circumstances are not about hurting individuals's non-secular sentiments, however of individuals looking for publicity."
Sumeet Vyas, who played dodgy politician Yudi in last year's show Dark 7 White on AltBalaji, says he is reminded of George Orwell's 1984. "Whatever you say, think, write, or perform will be monitored. It's not just harmful for actors, but for society. My argument is simple - if you think what actors perform has a negative impact on society, then what about all the stories [we perform] where good wins over evil? Then credit us and us alone also for all the good that has happened in this country."
