The cinema tells the story about the society we live in. The cinema is not just the big screen but with the digital advancement, we have created a lot of other platforms that are also representative of our society. Platforms like OTT television are the reflection of the social economic status of a particular country. OTT has become a prominent player in the market because of its easy access to every type of content even in the mobile phone.
The OTT platform has provided content that is usually based on revenge and portrays drug and alcohol abuse in abusive language. The series is not the one that is sponsored by a small media company, instead, these are some big production houses that put their investment and money into such content. This sensitive OTT content inspires to orchestrate various crimes in the name of revenge especially building up the female revenge character.
Revenge is taken too far in the OTT platform
Aarya Franchise
The fantasy of Revenge and violence are portrayed in an interesting manner which glamorises masculine images and violence. The liberation that the OTT platform got with their approach can make anything popular inspirational and cult. In the series, the Arya, Mirzapur, Family Man hurts the generation with the newfound definition of Revenge. We know that female anger is destructive and can transform into revenge which is the most powerful.
In the series Arya, the veteran actress Sushmita Sen has stretched the revenge for three seasons and stays in the teenager’s mind for a long time. The revenge-full attitude inspires individuals to take revenge even in the smaller things that can be taken care of easily with the help of authorities. Another thing that it shows is that the authorities are not working properly which is not a complete truth. In this vast sea many types of officers are honest and loyal while some are corrupt in every nation but showing every system corrupt is not right.
Mirzapur
Another series of Amazon Prime Mirzapur which is sponsored by the big names with well-known actors like Pankaj Tripathi gives a validation to revenge and crime. The scene from the series where Munna bhaiya was killing the wife of Guddu bhaiya even after she was bleeding that she is pregnant was orchestrated in the same manner in UP which is inspiring to take revenge instead of seeking justice in the right manner. While Pankaj Tripathi who has done an excellent job as an inspirational character in OMG 2 will be fading the effect of that particular character soon with the arrival of Mirzapur 3.
Dharavi Bank
Even in the free application MX player where Dharavi Bank, a movie by Sunil Shetty who is a well-known artist in the industry, portrays the killing of his son brutally to satisfy his ego and save honour. This type of act can be easily copied especially in a country like India where honour is more important. Do these actors take responsibility for spreading the right message? Even in these types of series the righteous person often ends up dead.
Alcohol and drug culture is cool in the OTT series
Smoke and Sas Bahu aur Flamingo
The use of alcohol and drugs in cult movies has become an important part which leads to the negative impact. Sometimes even the lead actor was indirectly promoting drugs and alcohol. Web series like Saas Bahu aur Flamingo, Smoke and even some drugs and alcohol-based movies show it as an integral part of the personality of any character. Smoke is another story of a Russian mafia who is establishing his network in Goa played by Jim Sarbh who is a brilliant and inspirational actor with a good image. The masterpiece acting over the past years is impactful especially in Rocket Boys as Homi Jahangir Bhabha. The contradiction between these two characters is strong. These strong characters inspire youth and sometimes these youth cross the thin border of inspiration of her courage and doing right or wrong things.
The character is taking up those abusive habits as part of their daily routine and sometimes they do not even show that these habits are affecting the main protagonist in any way. In the web series, Saas Bahu aur Flamingo Awareness started her own drug cultivating area where he is making it up as her own family business. In the beginning, we can understand that she was in grave need of survival but later on she can stop all this by starting in a new place. Instead, Rani Baa chooses to promote the drugs by making an even stronger version than flamingo this particularly shows no feminist thing instead making it right with the tag of feminism.
Sometimes the content that mainstream OTT content shows with harmful substances like hookah alcohol drugs are unrealistic and not appreciated by today’s generation. In the name of unique content, they create vulgar content where the young people are shown having alcohol and drugs which is not exactly true but this type of OTT series has become a common occurrence in major platforms like Netflix, Voot, MX player or Hotstar with the veteran cast. The senior actors and actresses who are a type of role models for many young Indians should take care of how they portray themselves on screen. Do they take responsibility for inspiring youth in the right way? Before choosing any script are they sure that the particular substance abuse is not a part of the character’s personality?
Abusive language in OTT is normalized
College Romance
The abusive language is the trend in these OTT platforms which has been quite normalised in recent years. It has been a topic of controversy over the years where the OTT has allowed creative freedom but the censure safe should be taken as well. These platforms should be responsible for the content they are distributing to their audience.
Even if some movies or series that are certified as suitable for kids are also exposed to a moderate level of abusive and vulgar language which encourages the population it has been very much normal to do things like this. The crime revenge and drama movies show misogynistic language words and abusive words even in normal happier conversations which gave a negative trend generation. Like this series about college romance which uses vulgar language in a teenage drama.
Jamtara
It is not just the problem with adult movies but even some movies where it is giving a good message often lead to seeking the help of abuse when using vulgar language. Another one on the list is Jamtara which is a con artist movie and uses extremely vulgar and abusive language which is not acceptable in any case. You cannot even watch this movie with your friends as it can offend you on a certain level. If you see the family-friendly movie they also have a level of vulgar language from certain characters which is not acceptable in many households of India. If the younger generation is constantly exposed to such language they will not be able to see any differentiation of formal and informal right and wrong speech types. Some movies show abusive and vulgar content and language in the formal and office environment which shows a negative image of the work culture of India. Since the target audience of such series and movies are different but through various means they are available for Teenage and younger audiences.
Verdict
OTT platform contains various types of content which have themes related to every age group. Certain things which are using mature content, explicit language and themes that are not suitable for all audiences can be accessed secretly by non-targeted audiences which creates a buzz among them or a level of pride that they watch such content and encourage others to do the same. In the beginning, it might look okay because everybody is following and the kid is trying to mingle up and level with their generation but for the long term it is not a suitable thing to watch especially for the growth of your child mentally and physically. This type of content inspires Indians negatively.
The disturbing content we often watch on the OTT platform which is easily accessible by Jio cinema and MX player for example Dharavi Bank where the disciplinary method was taken extreme by cutting off his own son’s head. In a country like India where honour killing is still prevalent in remote corners of the country, this type of cinematic representation is encouraging the wrong things in even spoiling the generation too much.
While many countries have proper regulations and governing bodies for controlling language, violence, and alcohol use, India has put the leash on the OTT platform owners. In the UK the Office of Communication will check all the content before it can broadcast. Singapore also has standard content in classification requirements even for the OTT platform. We are not saying that the OTT should not be given the freedom of expression. Still, they should be speciated and classified by a renowned board instead of the platform owners who are seeking money and not caring about what impact it will create on the generation. Apart from this the veteran actors who are stabilized in the industries sold take the leash of content they are promoting and put up a good role model for the younger generation.
Also Read: Unnecessary Attention Towards Pakistan By Production Houses & Indian Film Industry.
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