Contending that shows like Bigg Boss and Rakhi ka Insaaf have crossed the line of decency with their “objectionable and vulgar content”, the ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B) has asked Colors and Imagine, which air these programmes respectively, to shift their telecast between 11pm and 5am.
Bigg Boss airs at 9pm and Rakhi ka Insaaf at 9.30pm. The ministry has also asked the channels to run a scroll, saying these programmes are not suitable for children’s viewing.
The I&B ministry believes the two programmes are not fit for universal viewing. They should be aired after children go to bed. It has also said that these shows cannot be repeated at any other time slot or shown on news channels. The order is effective from Wednesday. This is the first time the government has put a time band for programmes. However, despite having objections, it has not asked the channels to change the content of the programmes.
Sources in the I&B ministry said the government is also monitoring programmes like Emotional Atyachar, Splitsvilla and Roadies. “More sanctions are likely to follow if objectionable material is found on other programmes. The same yardstick will apply to all,” an official said. The ministry has already banned Telugu SS Music channel for seven days for allegedly showing nudity. It said the visuals appeared to denigrate women.
The government’s move follows a series of complaints to the ministry. An inter-ministerial committee (IMC) was constituted to look into complaints of violation of programme and advertising codes. It saw clippings of the shows and said the programmes were not suitable for unrestricted public exhibition, especially at prime time.
“It has been brought to the notice of this ministry that the content of the reality show Bigg Boss-IV being aired on Colors offends good taste and decency. 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,” the ministry’s directive to the channel said.
On Rakhi ka Insaaf, the ministry said that the anchor of the show uses vulgar and abusive language. “The preview of the content telecast in this reality show has revealed that the anchor poses certain questions to the participants relating to their personal lives, which are not suitable for unrestricted public exhibition. It has also been noted that the 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 ministry invoked section 5 of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, while asking the channels to take the shows off prime slot.
The act says, “No programme can be transmitted/re-transmitted on any cable service which offends good taste or decency, contains anything obscene, defamatory, deliberate, false and suggestive innuendos and half truths; criticises, maligns or slanders any individual in person or in certain groups, segments of social, public and moral life of the country; and is not suitable for children and unrestricted public exhibition.”
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