'Bigg Boss 4', 'Rakhi Ka Insaaf' banished to late-night slots

Cracking down on vulgarity on prime-time television, the Union government today directed TV channels airing the shows Bigg Boss and Rakhi Ka Insaaf to shift their telecast to the time slot between 11pm and 5am, citing abusive" language, "objectionable" content, and divulging of "intimate" details on the shows.

The information and broadcasting ministry also banned the Telugu SS Music channel for a period of seven days for allegedly showing nudity.

Both Bigg Boss and Rakhi Ka Insaaf are not for unrestricted viewing and can be aired only in the scheduled time slot, the ministry told the channels in separate written orders, giving the shows a virtual Adults Only certificate.

While Bigg Boss is being aired on Colors, Rakhi Ka Insaaf is aired on NDTV Imagine.

The shows cannot also be repeated in any other time slot or shown on news programmes, the government order said.

On Bigg Boss, the directive issued to the channel said, "It has been brought to the notice of this ministry that the content of the reality show 'Bigg Boss Season-IV' being aired on Colors TV channel offends against good taste and
decency.

"It was also brought to the notice of the ministry that the content of the show is objectionable and not suitable for children and unrestricted public exhibition. The participants are often shown quarrelling in the programme and
using abusive language."

While on Rakhi ka Insaaf, it said the anchor/host of the programme uses vulgar and abusive language.

"Preview of the content telecast in this reality show has revealed that the anchor/host poses certain questions to the participants relating to their personal lives which are not found suitable for unrestricted public exhibition.

"It has also been noted that participants often reveal intimate details of their relationships, resulting in great embarrassment to the viewers watching the programme along with their families and also to the participants in the show," the directive said.

I&B officials said this was the first time the ministry had compulsorily changed time slots of popular TV shows.

SS music channel, which had been issued a notice earlier, had submitted that there was nothing in the visuals that could be described as obscene and vulgar and also that the programmes did not denigrate women.

But during a hearing, a representative of the channel was shown the clippings of the programmes and admitted that the content was obscene and vulgar but denied that the channel had telecast those songs, a ministry source said.

The decisions were taken at an inter-ministerial meeting attended by additional secretaries from the ministries of home, woman and child development, external affairs, and information and broadcasting on Monday.

Numerous complaints have been made by viewers as well as the National Commission for Women and social activists who accused the channels of showing explicit and obscene content.

The decision would be effective immediately, the officials said.

The meeting had been called after round-the-clock monitoring of the channels.

Rakhi ka Insaaf, compered by actor-dancer Rakhi Sawant, hit the spotlight after Laksham Prasad, a resident of Jhansi, committed suicide. His family alleged that the suicide followed the humiliation meted out to him on the show.

Prasad's family said the young man was upset after Sawant called him "impotent" and went into depression and refused to eat anything for several days.

Meanwhile, shortly after being issued the notice, Bigg Boss evicted two participants, Dolly Bindra and Sameer Soni, for violent behaviour.

The two 'inmates' were evicted after they got into a fistfight, breaking the show's rules which prohibit physical violence, said a source in Colors.

Bindra, who had earned the ire of all her fellow participants with her abusive behaviour, was having an argument with actress Shweta Tiwari, when actor Soni stepped in as peacemaker.

But the argument soon turned ugly and Soni and Bindra ended up exchanging blows, said the source.

The eviction came on the day former Baywatch babe Pamela Anderson entered the Bigg Boss house as a special guest.

Last year, Kamal R Khan became the first contestant in the show's history to be expelled for violent behaviour after attacking designer Rohit Verma with a bottle.

The show, which is in its fourth season, sees minor celebrities locked up inside a mansion with cameras following their every move.

Season 4 of the show has been mired in controversy from the beginning. The Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena had demanded a ban on the reality show because of the participation of two Pakistani artistes, actress Veena Malik and TV host Begum Nawazish Ali.

Actor Ashmit Patel's display of affection towards Malik and TV actress Sara Khan had raised eyebrows. The show also has the inmates often using abusive language.

Khan had married boyfriend Ali Merchant on the show recently and the two were shown kissing and cuddling up together on their wedding night.

Asked for their reaction, a Colors spokesperson said, "We still haven't received the order, so it is not possible for us to comment."

NDTV Imagine CEO Sameer Nair said, "We are awaiting details on this. We have only just heard of this. Once we get more details, we will be in a position to comment.

"Actually, I guess we will work with the concerned authorities [sic] on this. If it is a question of creating a band or operating in that manner, it will have to be examined what is being proposed and being suggested."

In fact, NDTV 24x7, a sister channel of NDTV Imagine, was reporting the development as a decision of the I&B ministry to create a separate time slot for 'adults only' programming.

The television industry is divided over the ministry's decision to give a virtual 'A' certificate to the two reality shows. While some support it, others think that the concerns are baseless.

Theatre personality and one-time ad guru Alyque Padamsee slammed the decision, saying, "It's a typical reaction. Next they will say we cannot have Kaun Banega Crorepati as it teaches kids to run after money."

Aspiring actor Rahul Bhatt, who got evicted from Bigg Boss two weeks ago, said, "It is great, I am in full support of this decision. A lot of vulgar things happen on the show and it is certainly not for the general public to view."

His words were echoed by lawyer Abbas Kazmi, another former contestant on Bigg Boss. "It is a proper decision. If the content is not according to our culture, it should be aired only for an adult audience."