Email
Print
ShareNew Delhi: For the first time in Indian television history, a channel has received two showcause notices within a week. The information & broadcasting (I&B) ministry on Thursday handed out a notice to Colors for violation of the programming code in telecasting the serial Na Aana Iss Des Lado. The channel was earlier issued a notice for obscenity in the reality show Bigg Boss 3.
Colors CEO Rajesh Kamath was not available for comment. After the first notice this week, 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.
On Thursday, 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.
Other TV channels too have got warnings from the I&B ministry in the recent past, include Star Plus for Sach Ka Samna, NDTV Imagine for Pati Patni Aur Woh and Sony for Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao.
In the case of Na Aana Iss Des Lado, a district magistrate has been depicted in bad light, according to the ministry. "The entire characterisation appears to be a grotesque caricature of a district administrator," the ministry said.
The ministry has often played Big Brother in the case of TV channels and films. A film depicting the relationship between Jawaharlal Nehru and Edwina Mountbatten had to be shelved recently after the ministry decided to censor scenes.
Some years back, the chief executive of FTV (Fashion TV) was summoned to India over complaints of obscenity.
