With Government of India preparing to release guidelines for regulating content on OTT platforms, Manoj Bajpayee says that at this point, there is a fear looming over every creative person.
Actor Manoj Bajpayee is counted among the best actors in the country. In his long career he has given many stellar performances. The actor found a whole new audience with the success of his web series, The Family Man in 2019. The Amazon Prime Video original series was about a middle-class man who secretly works as an intelligence officer. The makers, earlier this month, announced that the release had been pushed to the summer.
In a new interview, he has spoken about the fate of their web series and government’s proposal to bring Over the Top (OTT) platforms under censorship.
Speaking to Mid Day, Manoj said that if OTT indeed gets regulated, the medium would lose its charm. He was quoted as saying: “I would only pray that there is no censorship. I am morally opposed to banning and censorship in any form. As a citizen of the country, I want creative people to have the freedom to express their opinions in the manner in which they wish to. At the same time, I would hope that they do so responsibly. OTT will lose its charm if it comes under Censorship. At this point, that’s the fear looming over every creative person. I want OTT space to be liberating in its basic nature. I want filmmakers to keep flying and soaring with ideas, creating fresh experiences with each outing.”
The second season of the show was to debut on February 12 but it has now been pushed to summer. While there has been no official statement on reasons for the postponement, reports have suggested that the streaming giant was toying with the idea after the Tandav controversy. A number of cases had been registered against several people involved in the show for allegedly hurting religious sentiment. Earlier this month, Government of India had said that it would soon release guidelines for regulating the content on OTT platforms.
Manoj also added how the postponement (of Family Man 2) had been a disappointment but was quick to add that the streaming giant had taken the call “for the good of the product”.
